Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carnival (NYSE:CCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carnival in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Carnival in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Carnival in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Carnival from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of Carnival stock opened at $29.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.90 and a 200-day moving average of $29.20. Carnival has a 52-week low of $15.07 and a 52-week high of $32.89.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Carnival has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.170-0.170 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 312,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,780,000 after buying an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,880,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Carnival by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after acquiring an additional 23,866 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival during the second quarter valued at $734,000. Finally, Aviva PLC boosted its position in Carnival by 1,921.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 785,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,095,000 after buying an additional 746,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

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.