Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 10,322 Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & during the third quarter worth about $87,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Carnival Co. & by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 4,601 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,161,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,463,000 after buying an additional 35,745 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,347,000. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival Co. & in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CCL. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Carnival Co. & from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival Co. & currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.53.

Carnival Co. & Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:CCL opened at $20.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.98. Carnival Co. & plc has a one year low of $13.78 and a one year high of $28.72.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.81 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.14) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Co. & Profile

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.