58,600 Shares in Carnival Corporation $CCL Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Carnival Corporation, buying 58,600 shares worth about $1.52 million in the first quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment on Carnival remains positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $35.23 across analysts.
• Carnival reported Q2 earnings of $0.41 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 5.3% year over year; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 58,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carnival by 15.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Carnival in the first quarter valued at about $187,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Carnival by 110.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,206,941 shares of the company's stock worth $108,876,000 after buying an additional 2,212,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Carnival by 56.4% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 17,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 6,395 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CCL shares. Melius Research set a $36.00 price target on Carnival in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Carnival from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. HSBC upgraded Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Carnival from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,209,929.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,587.80. This represents a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Carnival Stock Performance

NYSE:CCL opened at $27.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Carnival Corporation has a 12-month low of $23.45 and a 12-month high of $34.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.48.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Carnival's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.03%.

Carnival Profile

Carnival Corporation NYSE: CCL is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company's core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.

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