Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Carnival

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Carnival in a note issued to investors on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.14 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.93. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Carnival’s current full-year earnings is $1.77 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Carnival’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.23 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.17 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.37 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.26 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.41 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.48 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Carnival from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Carnival from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Carnival from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Carnival from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carnival presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.90.

Carnival Trading Up 3.0%

Carnival stock opened at $28.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.68. Carnival has a 12 month low of $15.07 and a 12 month high of $32.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.09 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 10.07%.Carnival’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Carnival has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.140-2.140 EPS.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $371,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter valued at about $518,816,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Carnival during the first quarter worth about $432,718,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Carnival by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 126,663,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,561,777,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,739 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 184.3% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 10,289,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,353,000 after buying an additional 6,669,935 shares during the period. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 117.1% in the 2nd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 7,704,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,642,000 after buying an additional 4,155,630 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.