Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 66,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CCL. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Carnival by 381.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCL. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Carnival from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Carnival to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.08.

Carnival Stock Up 3.4%

Carnival stock opened at $28.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Carnival Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.45 and a fifty-two week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.