Ariel Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH)

Ariel Investments LLC cut its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,681,276 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169,141 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC owned 1.32% of Norwegian Cruise Line worth $106,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line by 5.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line by 5.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 20.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 117,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norwegian Cruise Line Price Performance

Norwegian Cruise Line stock opened at $20.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.70. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $12.70 and a 12-month high of $21.73.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 105.44% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Norwegian Cruise Line’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.17.

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.