Norges Bank Invests $124.20 Million in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,066,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,201,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Carnival by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,066,336 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,510,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,573,000 after buying an additional 4,883,024 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 9.6% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,576,000 after buying an additional 2,783,927 shares in the last quarter. Alua Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Carnival during the third quarter worth $68,557,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Carnival by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,459,000 after buying an additional 1,845,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Price Performance

NYSE:CCL opened at $27.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.06. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $22.11 and a one year high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. Carnival’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,058 shares of company stock valued at $1,524,195. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Carnival 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.