QRG Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 150,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,786,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CCL. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Carnival Co. & in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in Carnival Co. & in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 254.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Carnival Co. & in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CCL. Mizuho began coverage on Carnival Co. & in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Macquarie boosted their price target on Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Carnival Co. & from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Carnival Co. & in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.53.

Insider Activity at Carnival Co. &

In other news, CFO David Bernstein sold 153,995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total transaction of $2,366,903.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 181,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,797,047.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCL traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,085,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,773,234. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Carnival Co. & plc has a fifty-two week low of $10.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.74. The company has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.15 and a beta of 2.53.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.55) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches.