Carnival (NYSE: CCL) received a number of price target changes and ratings updates during the last week:

  • Carnival was downgraded by analysts at Topeka Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $38.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “We are downgrading CCL from Buy to Hold. Having risen 8% month-to-date (vs. the S&P 500′s 4% gain), CCL is close to our $38 target. We anticipate moderate disappointment when CCL reports F3Q12 (August) EPS on September 25. Our F3Q12E of $1.41 is $0.05 below consensus and F3Q12 guidance of $1.42-$1.46. Higher fuel costs, which precipitated our recent estimate cut, could account for $0.05 of F3Q12 EPS downside. Absent a material change in revenue outlook, we would not expect CCL shares to react much to cost-related guidance revisions, and believe CCL’s discount valuation belies the benefit of decelerating ship supply. That said, we see limited upside for CCL until evidence emerges that yields are likely to rebound in 2013.”
  • Carnival had its price target raised by analysts at Susquehanna from $30.00 to $40.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
  • Carnival had its price target raised by analysts at Deutsche Bank to $40.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “Whilst many commentators had thought that the rise in fuel prices since the interims would lead to a downgrade to the group’s 180-190c 2012E EPS guidance, management managed to narrow (rather than lower) this range to 183-187c helped by a 50bp rise in the midpoint of full year net yield guidance. The group also surprised us by buying $67m of stock back, and also gave a firm commitment to returning further cashflow in the future. We upgrade our UK listing target from £24 to £24.50 and US listing from $38.50 to $40, and thus retain our Buy recommendation.”
  • Carnival had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Deutsche Bank.
  • Carnival was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $37.50 price target on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call. They noted that the move was a valuation call.
  • Carnival had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Nomura.
  • Carnival had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Zacks. They now have a $39.00 price target on the stock. Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “We believe a strong balance sheet and solid cash generating ability should position Carnival well and promise above-average long-term growth in an improving economy, marked with slow industry capacity growth. Carnival is recovering at a good pace from the Costa disaster and expects the Costa cruises to swing back to profitability in 2013. It is also experiencing a rise in North American brands bookings for the first half of 2013 and continues to be focused on enhancing shareholders’ value. Its cost containment efforts are also paying off. However, the sluggish European economy that led to an uncertain consumer confidence in Europe, adverse currency translations and higher overall unit costs excluding fuel in 2013 pose major threats to the company. Hence, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.”
  • Carnival had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley to $37.00. They wrote, “F13 EPS cut 7% due to cost pressures, but PT rises to reflect good yield momentum, our expectation of a $1bn annual buyback, and a return to normalized profits by F14. We remain EW as the risk-reward looks evenly skewed. … CCL is a macro play, but better GDP growth has historically led to higher fuel costs.”

Carnival Co. traded up 1.23% on Thursday, hitting $37.02. Carnival Co. has a 52-week low of $29.15 and a 52-week high of $39.00. The company has a market cap of $28.765 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05.

Carnival Corporation is a cruise company. The Company’s cruise brand operates in two segments: North America and Europe, Australia & Asia (EAA).