Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,393 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Carnival were worth $12,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Carnival in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Carnival by 381.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in Carnival in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Stock Up 0.9%

Carnival stock opened at $26.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.33. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $23.45 and a one year high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 26.11%. Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Carnival’s payout ratio is 27.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC raised shares of Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Carnival in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Carnival 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.