Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stake in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 45.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 915,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 773,681 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Carnival were worth $23,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 2,954.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 19,851,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,625,000 after purchasing an additional 19,201,000 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth about $429,448,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 2,432.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,689,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,425,822 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Carnival by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,066,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carnival by 1,619.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,132,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,740,000 after buying an additional 4,833,723 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carnival Stock Up 4.3%

Carnival stock opened at $26.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.06. Carnival Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.45 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.69 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 26.11%. Carnival’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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, research analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CCL shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Carnival from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Carnival from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Carnival from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.08.

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.