Carnival Corporation $CCL Stock Position Boosted by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has raised its stake in Carnival Corporation by 2.5% after acquiring an additional 26,988 shares, increasing its total ownership to approximately 1.12 million shares valued at about $21.83 million.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 67.19% of Carnival's stock, indicating strong institutional interest, while insiders own around 7.60%.
• Carnival Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and has set FY 2025 guidance for earnings per share at $1.970.

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,117,897 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,988 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.10% of Carnival worth $21,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Carnival during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the first quarter worth $25,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the first quarter worth $35,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCL. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Carnival from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Carnival from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.71.

Carnival Stock Up 6.9%

CCL traded up $2.0180 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.2880. The company had a trading volume of 27,173,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,618,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Carnival Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.07 and a 1-year high of $31.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average of $23.90. The company has a market cap of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 2.70.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. Carnival had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.970-1.970 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.300-1.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $371,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,916,078.50. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Carnival

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.