Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Trading Up 5.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) rose 5.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.28 and last traded at $27.92. Approximately 1,888,906 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,616,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NCLH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $19.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.27.

Norwegian Cruise Line Trading Up 7.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.44 and a 200-day moving average of $22.55. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.35.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 99.31% and a net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Norwegian Cruise Line news, insider Andrea Demarco sold 29,000 shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $805,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,701,159.04. The trade was a 22.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Faye L. Ashby sold 38,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $1,046,791.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 116,270 shares in the company, valued at $3,174,171. This represents a 24.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,344 shares of company stock worth $2,269,731. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 192.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 489.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 69.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.