Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. $NCLH Stake Cut by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems cut its Norwegian Cruise Line stake by 76.8% in the third quarter, selling 99,900 shares and retaining 30,100 shares valued at $441,000.
• Other institutional investors made substantial additions, and institutions and hedge funds collectively owned 69.58% of NCLH shares.
• Norwegian beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates; analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $20.18.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,900 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NCLH. Elliott Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line during the 1st quarter valued at about $246,578,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 358.8% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,675,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874,730 shares during the period. Hound Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hound Partners LLC now owns 5,713,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905,203 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the first quarter worth about $33,380,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 122.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,143,019 shares of the company's stock worth $40,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,251 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

Shares of NCLH stock opened at $17.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $15.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.64. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $13.63 and a one year high of $25.13.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 34.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NCLH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Broker raised shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norwegian Cruise Line has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.18.

Norwegian Cruise Line Profile

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is a global cruise company headquartered in Miami, Florida. Through its operating brands—Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises—the company provides cruise vacations to destinations worldwide, including Europe, the Caribbean, Alaska, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

Norwegian Cruise Line offers contemporary cruises with flexible dining, entertainment and onboard activities. Oceania Cruises focuses on destination-oriented, upscale travel and culinary experiences, while Regent Seven Seas Cruises provides an all-inclusive luxury cruise experience.

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