BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Carnival (NYSE:CCL) to Hold

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

CCL has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Argus set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Carnival in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Carnival from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.99.

Carnival Price Performance

Carnival stock opened at $25.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.32. Carnival has a 52-week low of $23.45 and a 52-week high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.44.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Carnival had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 26.11%. The company had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Carnival’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Carnival will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 69,238 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCL. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Carnival by 2,954.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 19,851,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,625,000 after buying an additional 19,201,000 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in Carnival during the 4th quarter worth $429,448,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 2,432.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,689,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,425,822 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,066,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 1,619.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,132,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,833,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Carnival

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Carnival’s FY2026 earnings estimate was nudged slightly higher, and its FY2028 estimate was also raised marginally, showing analysts still see earnings growth over time.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted that FY27 bookings remain at historical highs, with strong pricing and occupancy suggesting demand is still healthy.
• Positive Sentiment: Carnival completed the Celebration Key pier extension early, doubling capacity at its private destination and potentially supporting more guest traffic and future revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent article argued that Carnival stock may look discounted on earnings, but noted that the recovery story is partly priced in and risks remain mixed.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut estimates for Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q2 2027, and Q1 2028, reinforcing concerns that near-term profitability may be less robust than previously expected.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising oil prices tied to renewed Middle East tensions are pressuring cruise stocks, since fuel is a major operating cost for Carnival and can squeeze margins.
• Negative Sentiment: Carnival was also removed from several Russell growth indices, which may have added technical selling pressure.

Carnival Company Profile

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.