Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 2,720,096 Shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,097,001 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,720,096 shares during the period. Carnival Co. & accounts for approximately 0.7% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $450,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 175,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,384,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 153.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 336,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,386,000 after purchasing an additional 203,710 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Carnival Co. & by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 86,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 18,269 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 14,165 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,486,000. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carnival Co. & Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $16.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Carnival Co. & plc has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $28.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.22.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 24.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.14) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CCL. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Carnival Co. & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.89.

About Carnival Co. &

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.