NorthRock Partners LLC Buys New Position in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CCL. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Carnival Co. & by 8.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 4,601 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Carnival Co. & by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 28,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 10,711 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Carnival Co. & by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 49,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,904,000. 67.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carnival Co. & Stock Performance

NYSE:CCL opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.03. Carnival Co. & plc has a twelve month low of $13.78 and a twelve month high of $28.72.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CCL shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Carnival Co. & from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Carnival Co. & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.68.

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.