Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Carnival from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Carnival from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Carnival in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.06.

Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of CCL traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.45. 18,659,631 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,118,936. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.34. Carnival has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $30.46.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.20 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Carnival will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter valued at $518,816,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter valued at $432,718,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 186.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,898,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,681,000 after buying an additional 6,444,444 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,850,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,423,000 after buying an additional 5,761,489 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,095,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,918,022,000 after buying an additional 4,458,329 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.