DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 9,033 Shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 184,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,033 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $4,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Carnival Co. & by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,095,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,022,000 after buying an additional 4,458,329 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth $59,486,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,426,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,906 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,636,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 718.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,165,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901,224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCL opened at $19.85 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.20. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Carnival Co. & plc has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $28.72.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CCL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com raised Carnival Co. & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Carnival Co. & from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.89.

Carnival Co. & Company 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.