Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.14.

CCL has been the subject of several research reports. Argus decreased their target price on Carnival from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Carnival from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Carnival in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Carnival from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of CCL stock opened at $26.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.38. Carnival has a one year low of $21.45 and a one year high of $34.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Carnival had a return on equity of 24.83% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $8.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given 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 is Friday, November 6th. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Carnival by 5.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,904,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,372,000 after acquiring an additional 834,885 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Carnival by 67.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,770,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723,171 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 5.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,608,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,152,000 after purchasing an additional 278,758 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 11.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,687,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,909,000 after purchasing an additional 480,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hound Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Hound Partners LLC now owns 4,514,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,844,000 after purchasing an additional 985,772 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is one of the world’s largest leisure travel and cruise companies. It operates cruise lines that provide vacation travel, onboard entertainment, dining, accommodations, recreational activities and shore excursions. The company’s brands serve a broad range of travelers, from mainstream and contemporary vacationers to premium and luxury guests.

Carnival’s portfolio includes Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises UK and P&O Cruises Australia.