Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Carnival Corporation by 21.5% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 1,942,667 shares valued at approximately $37.94 million.
• Several brokerages have upgraded their ratings for Carnival, with HSBC moving it from a "reduce" to a "hold" and setting a target price of $24.00, while Barclays raised the target from $30.00 to $33.00.
• Carnival's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting earnings per share of $0.35, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.24, with revenue up 9.5% year-over-year.

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,942,667 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 343,652 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.17% of Carnival worth $37,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth about $5,715,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth about $5,113,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Carnival by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,628,000 after purchasing an additional 16,529 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Carnival by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 122,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 28,890 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Carnival by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 183,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 10,739 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CCL. HSBC raised Carnival from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Carnival from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Carnival in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Carnival presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $371,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 64,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,916,078.50. This represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of CCL stock opened at $30.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.80. Carnival Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.53 and a 12-month high of $31.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 9.72%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Carnival 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.

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