Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Carnival (NYSE:CCL) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carnival in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carnival presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.80.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $27.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.06. Carnival has a fifty-two week low of $22.11 and a fifty-two week high of $34.03. The firm has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Carnival’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carnival will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the sale, the director owned 52,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. This represents a 38.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 55,058 shares of company stock valued at $1,524,195 in the last quarter. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carnival

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after acquiring an additional 368,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Carnival by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,185,000 after acquiring an additional 704,433 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,929,000 after acquiring an additional 291,864 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Carnival by 9.6% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,927 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Carnival by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,104,000 after acquiring an additional 683,311 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.