Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Carnival (NYSE:CCL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Carnival from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Carnival in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.71.

Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of Carnival stock opened at $29.2440 on Monday. Carnival has a 52 week low of $15.07 and a 52 week high of $31.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.87. The company has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.70.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 9.72%.Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.970-1.970 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.300-1.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $371,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 64,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,916,078.50. This represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carnival

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CCL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Carnival during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Carnival in the first quarter worth $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival in the second quarter worth $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Carnival during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Carnival during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.