Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCLH) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Macquarie

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Macquarie in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $30.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.99% from the company’s previous close.

NCLH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $19.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norwegian Cruise Line currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.27.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

NYSE:NCLH traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.28. 4,948,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,617,811. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.64. Norwegian Cruise Line has a fifty-two week low of $14.69 and a fifty-two week high of $28.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.35, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.20.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 99.31% and a net margin of 5.87%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Norwegian Cruise Line

In other Norwegian Cruise Line news, insider Andrea Demarco sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $805,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,701,159.04. This trade represents a 22.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Faye L. Ashby sold 38,344 shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $1,046,791.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 116,270 shares in the company, valued at $3,174,171. The trade was a 24.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,731. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCLH. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 192.3% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 489.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 173.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.