Swedbank AB Raises Position in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Carnival by 10% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 519,939 shares valued at about $15.9 million.
• Carnival announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and completed its dual-listed structure unification and redomiciliation to Bermuda, moves that may support shareholder returns and operational flexibility.
• The stock has mixed signals: analysts remain mostly bullish with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, but the shares fell 2.2% and the company faces some near-term pressure from negative travel sentiment and elevated put buying.

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519,939 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,070 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Carnival were worth $15,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company's stock worth $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,369,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,850 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,043,929,000 after purchasing an additional 291,864 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company's stock worth $922,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,510,016 shares of the company's stock worth $419,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,883,024 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Carnival announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, signaling continued shareholder returns and reinforcing confidence in cash generation. CARNIVAL CORPORATION DECLARES DIVIDEND
• Positive Sentiment: The company completed its long-planned unification of its dual-listed structure and redomiciled to Bermuda, a move that may simplify the corporate structure and improve operational flexibility. Carnival Corporation & plc Completes Unification of Dual Listed Company Structure and Redomiciliation to Bermuda
• Positive Sentiment: Management is also highlighting a digital overhaul that uses AI-driven supply chain and maintenance tools, which could improve efficiency and support long-term margin upside. Carnival Digital Overhaul Links AI Supply Chain To Valuation Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Holland America Line opened bookings for newly renovated Oosterdam itineraries, adding to Carnival’s cruise offerings, but this appears to be a routine commercial update with limited near-term stock impact. Newly Renovated Oosterdam to Cruise Europe, the Caribbean and Panama Canal
• Negative Sentiment: News of a rare hantavirus outbreak is pressuring cruise-related travel sentiment, raising concerns that some potential customers may delay or cancel trips. RCL, NCLH, CCL: Cruise stocks get hit as rare hantavirus outbreak sparks travel fears
• Negative Sentiment: Options activity showed elevated put buying in Carnival, suggesting some traders are positioning for further downside or hedging near-term risk. Carnival Unifies Dual Structure Under Single Bermuda Entity

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carnival from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Carnival from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.37.

Carnival Stock Down 2.2%

CCL opened at $26.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $19.92 and a one year high of $34.03.

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

Insider Activity at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Carnival Company Profile

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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