Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCL. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carnival in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Carnival from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Carnival from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Carnival in a report on Monday, December 22nd.

Carnival Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CCL stock opened at $33.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $40.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.02 and a 200-day moving average of $29.36. Carnival has a 12-month low of $15.07 and a 12-month high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Carnival had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 10.37%.The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Carnival’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.170-0.170 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 9.9% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 312,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,780,000 after acquiring an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Carnival in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,880,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Carnival by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,795,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,820,000 after purchasing an additional 272,452 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Carnival by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 23,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carnival in the second quarter worth $734,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company’s core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.