Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Sells 29,306 Shares of Carnival Corporation $CCL

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD cut its holdings in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,306 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s holdings in Carnival were worth $2,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Carnival by 99.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,066,336 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Carnival by 50.7% during the third 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $124,201,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Carnival by 9.6% during the third 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, Alua Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Carnival during the third quarter worth $68,557,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Carnival News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel raised its price target on Carnival and said it remains confident in the company’s financial outlook, a clear catalyst supporting the stock. Carnival (CCL) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said he likes Carnival and highlighted its low valuation, which may have reinforced the market’s view that the stock still looks inexpensive relative to fundamentals. Jim Cramer Says He Likes Carnival But Leans More Toward Viking Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Carnival scheduled a conference call for its second-quarter earnings on June 23, which keeps investor focus on upcoming results but does not by itself change the outlook. CARNIVAL CORPORATION LTD. TO HOLD CONFERENCE CALL ON SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles this week discussed Carnival as a potentially attractive consumer cyclical stock, adding to broader interest but offering no new company-specific operating update. Is Carnival Corporation Ltd. (CCL) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary still suggested Carnival is less preferred than rival Viking Holdings, which could temper enthusiasm at the margin. Jim Cramer Says He Likes Carnival But Leans More Toward Viking Holdings

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,209,929.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 69,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 55,058 shares of company stock valued at $1,524,195 in the last three months. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CCL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.85.

Carnival Stock Performance

NYSE CCL opened at $29.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.32. Carnival Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.11 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is 26.67%.

About Carnival

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.