Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Trading Up 6.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)’s share price shot up 6.8% during trading on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $31.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Carnival traded as high as $26.81 and last traded at $26.9840. Approximately 7,224,766 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 24,926,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.27.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Carnival from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.08.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the insider owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 7.2% during the second quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Carnival by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Carnival by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carnival during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carnival during the 2nd quarter worth about $504,000. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.06. The stock has a market cap of $36.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.32. 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 (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $6.69 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company’s quarterly 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 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. Research analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 is 27.03%.

About Carnival

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.