Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Trading Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)’s stock price was down 6.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $21.44 and last traded at $21.79. Approximately 18,712,824 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 26,006,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CCL. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Carnival Co. & in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Carnival Co. & from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Carnival Co. & presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.11.

Carnival Co. & Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.64.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 20th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 24.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Carnival Co. & by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,095,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,022,000 after buying an additional 4,458,329 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Carnival Co. & by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,426,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,906 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Carnival Co. & by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,228,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,256 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,850,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,423,000 after purchasing an additional 5,761,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,649,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,747,000 after purchasing an additional 877,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

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.