New Century Financial Group LLC Sells 56,189 Shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 78.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,189 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carnival Co. & Trading Down 5.0%

CCL stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.39. The company had a trading volume of 36,856,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,514,678. The company has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.92 and a 200 day moving average of $22.93. Carnival Co. & plc has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $28.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.74 billion. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. Carnival Co. &'s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CCL. HSBC raised shares of Carnival Co. & from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carnival Co. & from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Carnival Co. & from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival Co. & currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.58.

About Carnival Co. &

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.