Ariel Investments LLC Boosts Stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. $NCLH

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings by 126.8%, owning over 9 million shares worth approximately $172 million, making it the 21st largest position in their portfolio.
• Norwegian Cruise Line's stock opened at $24.71 with a market cap of $11.17 billion, while its recent earnings report revealed a slight miss on EPS estimates, reporting $0.51 against a consensus of $0.52.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Norwegian Cruise Line, with Bank of America setting a price objective at $27.00 and Jefferies Financial Group at $29.00, indicating a predominately positive sentiment among research firms.

Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Free Report) by 126.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,081,170 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,077,531 shares during the quarter. Norwegian Cruise Line accounts for about 2.0% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 2.03% of Norwegian Cruise Line worth $172,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NCLH. Amundi increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 46.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,135,878 shares of the company's stock worth $21,536,000 after buying an additional 361,834 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line in the first quarter worth $69,877,000. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 11.9% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 98,649 shares of the company's stock worth $1,871,000 after buying an additional 10,457 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line in the first quarter worth $30,781,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 181.0% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 287,337 shares of the company's stock worth $5,448,000 after buying an additional 185,067 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NCLH. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norwegian Cruise Line has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Norwegian Cruise Line Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:NCLH traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.66. 14,670,848 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,377,749. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $14.21 and a 12-month high of $29.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.16 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.51.

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

About Norwegian Cruise Line

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.