Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Stock

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 7.99% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CCL. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Carnival Co. & in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.18.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

Shares of CCL stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.91. The stock had a trading volume of 5,994,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,119,418. Carnival Co. & has a 12-month low of $13.78 and a 12-month high of $27.17. The company has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 2.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 20th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carnival Co. & news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.72, for a total transaction of $380,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 65,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,937.08. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCL. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the 2nd quarter valued at $466,838,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Carnival Co. & by 510.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,331,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,398,000 after buying an additional 8,638,865 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 8,431.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 6,644,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,781,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566,120 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Carnival Co. & by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,585,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,435,000 after buying an additional 2,911,100 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 2,400.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,010,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,280,000 after buying an additional 2,889,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

About Carnival Co. &

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches.