Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Price Target Raised to $36.00

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) had its target price hoisted by Freedom Broker from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CCL. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Carnival from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus reduced their price target on Carnival from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Carnival from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Carnival from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.14.

Carnival Stock Performance

NYSE CCL opened at $25.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average of $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $34.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.38. Carnival has a 52-week low of $21.45 and a 52-week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Carnival had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 24.83%. The business had revenue of $8.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carnival

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCL. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Carnival by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 572,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,363,000 after acquiring an additional 154,101 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 261.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 91,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after acquiring an additional 66,100 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 330.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,827,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938,650 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 14,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 130,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 35,373 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Carnival

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Carnival Cruise Line opened bookings for its 2028–2029 West Coast deployment, covering Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico. The expanded itinerary offering supports longer-term capacity utilization and revenue visibility. Carnival Cruise Line opens West Coast deployment
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share and revenue beating consensus. Management commentary also pointed to record booking trends, strong pricing and sustained demand, reinforcing the view that Carnival’s earnings recovery remains intact. Carnival Corporation’s Q3 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: An analysis argues that fuel and broader macroeconomic risks may be overstated, while travelers continue accepting higher cruise prices. Carnival’s new cruise AI app is also viewed as a potential way to improve customer engagement and onboard revenue. Carnival fuel and macro risks analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker raised its price target and maintained a buy rating, while Barclays reaffirmed its buy recommendation. Heavy trading in Carnival call options also indicates bullish speculative interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Carnival registered a broad shelf offering that could allow it to issue stock, debt or other securities for refinancing, investments or balance-sheet management. The added financial flexibility is useful, but no immediate issuance was announced. Carnival registers broad shelf of securities
• Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane, Mizuho, Argus and Wells Fargo reduced their price targets, citing valuation, fuel-cost exposure and macroeconomic uncertainty. BMO also issued a hold rating, creating a more cautious analyst backdrop despite several remaining buy or overweight ratings.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is a global leisure travel company that operates cruise lines and related vacation businesses. Its brands offer ocean cruises, onboard entertainment, dining, accommodation, excursions and other travel experiences to passengers across a range of price points and destinations.

The company’s portfolio includes Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.