National Bank of Canada FI Has $16.85 Million Holdings in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Carnival Corporation by 56.1% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $16.8 million worth of shares.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly boosted their positions in Carnival, including a 9,220.3% increase in holdings by D. E. Shaw & Co. during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have a predominantly positive outlook on Carnival's stock, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $30.71.

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 862,640 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 310,091 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Carnival worth $16,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,850,042 shares of the company's stock worth $569,423,000 after buying an additional 5,761,489 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,845,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 228.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,305 shares of the company's stock worth $116,857,000 after buying an additional 3,263,204 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 9,220.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 3,297,434 shares of the company's stock worth $82,172,000 after buying an additional 3,262,055 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,056,246 shares of the company's stock worth $175,842,000 after buying an additional 2,593,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Carnival from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Carnival in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Carnival from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Carnival from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.71.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Carnival Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of CCL stock traded up $0.99 on Wednesday, reaching $30.63. 22,064,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,536,168. The stock has a market cap of $35.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.70. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $14.53 and a one year high of $31.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.80.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.