HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its Carnival stake by 27% in the fourth quarter, buying 131,130 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 616,292 shares worth about $18.8 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on Carnival, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $34.13, even as some firms trimmed targets.
• Carnival recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $6.17 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 616,292 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,130 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Carnival worth $18,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Carnival by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 12,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 10,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 1.9% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 21,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the sale, the director owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $314,265 in the last 90 days. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CCL shares. HSBC upgraded Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Carnival from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.13.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of CCL stock opened at $26.01 on Friday. Carnival Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.62 and a fifty-two week high of $34.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.01.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Carnival's payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation NYSE: CCL is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company's core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.

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