Carnival Corporation $CCL Holdings Lifted by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB grew its position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519,939 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,070 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Carnival were worth $15,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CCL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Carnival by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carnival in the 1st quarter worth about $228,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Carnival by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 11,601 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Carnival by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 88,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Carnival by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 23,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $314,265 over the last ninety days. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CCL. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Carnival from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.13.

Carnival Trading Up 0.1%

Carnival stock opened at $26.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.33. Carnival Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.62 and a 12-month high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

About Carnival

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.