Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.0818.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CCL. UBS Group cut their price target on Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Carnival in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Carnival Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CCL opened at $29.73 on Thursday. Carnival has a twelve month low of $23.45 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 2.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.87.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.69 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Carnival will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. This represents a 38.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Carnival by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,185,000 after purchasing an additional 704,433 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,104,000 after buying an additional 683,311 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 26,729,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,320,000 after buying an additional 364,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Carnival by 2,954.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 19,851,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,625,000 after buying an additional 19,201,000 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company’s core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.