Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Shares Down 2.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)’s stock price traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $25.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Carnival Co. & traded as low as $16.73 and last traded at $16.81. 6,753,433 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 31,947,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.19.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Bernstein sold 153,995 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total value of $2,366,903.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 181,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,047.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carnival Co. &

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCL. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 13.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 7.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 108,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 7,248 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 3.4% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 137,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,536 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 2.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,734,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,697,000 after purchasing an additional 93,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 25.5% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 152,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,088,000 after purchasing an additional 31,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.14, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.82 and a beta of 2.54.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Carnival Co. & had a negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 0.02%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.55) earnings per share. Carnival Co. &’s revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & plc will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches.