Ariel Investments LLC Buys 3,288,207 Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. $NCLH

Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,369,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,288,207 shares during the quarter. Norwegian Cruise Line comprises 2.8% of Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line were worth $250,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 59 North Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1st quarter worth about $69,877,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the second quarter worth about $49,620,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 22.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,477,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,615,000 after buying an additional 2,122,501 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 72.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,398,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,781,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norwegian Cruise Line

In related news, Director Zillah Byng-Thorne bought 29,008 shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.11 per share, for a total transaction of $525,334.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 66,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,567.87. This represents a 78.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Kempa bought 10,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $197,066.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 369,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,844,092.56. This trade represents a 2.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 90,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,663,575. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE NCLH opened at $18.74 on Wednesday. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $14.21 and a fifty-two week high of $29.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.02.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.03. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 55.51%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.270-0.270 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.100-2.100 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NCLH shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norwegian Cruise Line presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.95.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.