Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Stock Price Target Cut by Argus

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Argus from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 21.96% from the stock’s current price.

CCL has been the subject of several other reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Carnival to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Carnival in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Carnival in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carnival presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.06.

Carnival Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $24.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.32. Carnival has a 1 year low of $21.45 and a 1 year high of $34.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Carnival had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 24.83%. The business had revenue of $8.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Carnival will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCL. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Carnival in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Carnival by 107.8% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Carnival News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q3 results and resilient demand support the long-term outlook. Carnival reported adjusted EPS of $1.43 and revenue of $8.44 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.35 and $8.39 billion. Net income reached approximately $1.9 billion, while net yields and revenue were records. Carnival Corporation Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings provide visibility into 2027. About half of Carnival’s 2027 inventory is booked at record occupancy and pricing, and customer deposits reached $7.6 billion. The company is limiting capacity growth to roughly 0.5%, which could help preserve pricing power and net yields. CCL Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised. Carnival now expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of approximately $2.24, above the roughly $2.22 consensus estimate. Analysts remain broadly constructive, with Mizuho retaining an Outperform rating and a $38 price target despite a modest reduction. Carnival average price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity points to continued bullish speculation. Traders purchased more than 100,000 Carnival call options, approximately double the average daily volume, indicating elevated interest in further upside but also potentially increasing short-term volatility. Carnival call options activity
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance and costs are weighing on sentiment. Carnival’s fourth-quarter EPS forecast of $0.20 is below the approximately $0.25 analyst consensus. Fuel costs rose sharply, pressuring margins, and several analysts lowered price targets after the earnings report. The stock may also be experiencing profit-taking following its large earnings-driven advance. Analysts cut Carnival forecasts

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is a global leisure travel company that operates cruise lines and related vacation businesses. Its brands offer ocean cruises, onboard entertainment, dining, accommodation, excursions and other travel experiences to passengers across a range of price points and destinations.

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