AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. $NCLH

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. by 381.0% in the 1st quarter, owning approximately 1,051,713 shares valued at $19.5 million.
• Norwegian Cruise Line's stock rose 5.9%, reaching $26.92, with a market capitalization of $12.17 billion and a PE ratio of 18.57.
• Analysts generally hold a positive outlook on NCLH, with a consensus target price of $27.60 and multiple firms issuing buy ratings over recent months.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Free Report) by 381.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,051,713 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 833,082 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Norwegian Cruise Line worth $19,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NCLH. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 9,081,170 shares of the company's stock worth $172,179,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077,531 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,689,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,843,000 after buying an additional 3,824,600 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the 1st quarter worth about $69,877,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 3,403.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 3,374,576 shares of the company's stock worth $86,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,278,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,477,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122,501 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.60.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NCLH traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.68. The company had a trading volume of 14,843,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,718,219. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.05, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $14.21 and a fifty-two week high of $29.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.54.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.140-1.140 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.050-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Norwegian Cruise Line Company Profile

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.