Insider Selling: Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Insider Sells $1,209,929.80 in Stock

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 69,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Carnival Trading Down 1.5%

CCL opened at $27.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.51 and a 200-day moving average of $28.05. Carnival Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.11 and a 52 week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Carnival during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Carnival during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Carnival during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Carnival by 381.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Carnival during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Carnival from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Carnival from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carnival presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.80.

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.