First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Position in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. $NCLH

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Norwegian Cruise Line stake by 55.8% in the first quarter, selling 257,470 shares and retaining 204,081 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.58% of NCLH.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: NCLH has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $21.15, with recent targets ranging from $18 to $24.
• Insiders have been buying shares, including CEO John Chidsey’s purchase of 153,000 shares and Director Jonathan Cohen’s purchase of 30,000 shares. The company also exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.48 versus the $0.41 consensus estimate.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Free Report) by 55.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,081 shares of the company's stock after selling 257,470 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line were worth $3,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 18,110 shares of the company's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 96,848 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 20,700 shares of the company's stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 28,603 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NCLH shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jonathan Z. Cohen purchased 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.83 per share, for a total transaction of $474,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 38,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $615,976.96. This represents a 336.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Chidsey bought 153,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.37 per share, for a total transaction of $2,504,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,139,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,660,817.80. This trade represents a 15.50% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 1,563,000 shares of company stock worth $27,971,810 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NCLH opened at $20.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.40. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.90. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a twelve month low of $14.53 and a twelve month high of $27.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.90.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.07. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 41.38% and a net margin of 7.49%.The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.900-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NYSE: NCLH is a global cruise operator offering a portfolio of premium brands that includes Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The company provides sea voyages and related onboard services such as dining, entertainment, shore excursions and destination experiences. Its fleet of modern vessels sails to more than 400 destinations across all seven continents, serving leisure travelers with itineraries ranging from short Caribbean getaways to extended world voyages.

Founded in 1966 by Knut Kloster and Ted Arison, the company pioneered the concept of “Freestyle Cruising,” which allows passengers greater flexibility in dining schedules, entertainment choices and onboard activities.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NCLH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source