Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.9909.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Carnival from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Carnival from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Carnival from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Carnival Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CCL opened at $26.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Carnival has a one year low of $23.45 and a one year high of $34.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 11.24%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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, analysts predict that Carnival will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Carnival by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 519,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,879,000 after purchasing an additional 47,070 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Carnival by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,913,190,000 after buying an additional 368,445 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Carnival by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,126,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,487,000 after buying an additional 637,605 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Carnival by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,252,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,632,000 after buying an additional 109,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 95.9% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 889,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,017,000 after buying an additional 435,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

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.