Carnival Corporation $CCL Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Carnival Corporation by 17.2%, now owning 41,236 shares valued at approximately $805,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Mirae Asset Global Investments and OLD National Bancorp IN, have increased their stakes in Carnival, reflecting a mixed sentiment among investors.
• Carnival's recent earnings report showed a better-than-expected EPS of $0.35, exceeding the consensus estimate, indicating positive revenue growth despite stock fluctuations.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,236 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,585 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Carnival were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CCL. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Carnival during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 10.0% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 47,732 shares of the company's stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Carnival in the first quarter worth $157,000. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 168.7% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 916,528 shares of the company's stock worth $17,900,000 after acquiring an additional 575,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its position in shares of Carnival by 2.5% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 341,255 shares of the company's stock worth $6,665,000 after buying an additional 8,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In related news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $371,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 64,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,916,078.50. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Carnival in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Carnival from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.71.

Carnival Price Performance

CCL traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.55. 12,993,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,040,851. Carnival Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.07 and a 1-year high of $32.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.70.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.970-1.970 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.300-1.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Company Profile

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.