Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $309,000 in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. has acquired 15,801 shares of Carnival Corporation valued at approximately $309,000 as reported in their latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Carnival, with D. E. Shaw & Co. boosting their holdings by an unprecedented 9,220.3% in the fourth quarter.
• Analyst ratings are largely positive for Carnival, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a targeted price increase for the stock from firms such as Bank of America and Citigroup.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Carnival by 186.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,898,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,681,000 after purchasing an additional 6,444,444 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Carnival by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,850,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,423,000 after acquiring an additional 5,761,489 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Carnival in the fourth quarter valued at $100,845,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Carnival by 228.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,857,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Carnival by 9,220.3% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 3,297,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,172,000 after acquiring an additional 3,262,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Carnival in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Carnival from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Carnival in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.71.

Carnival Stock Performance

Carnival stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.64. 14,583,987 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,020,848. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $34.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.70. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $14.53 and a one year high of $31.01.

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

Insider Activity at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director owned 64,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,916,078.50. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.