Brokerages Set Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) PT at $34.94

Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.9429.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CCL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Carnival from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Carnival from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Carnival News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Carnival reported Q2 EPS of $0.41, ahead of estimates, with revenue of $6.66 billion and record net yields; the company also said customer deposits hit an all-time high, signaling healthy demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating and a $35 price target, pointing to strong bookings, yield growth and continued deleveraging as reasons for upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair also reiterated a Buy, saying strong profit growth, yield momentum and cost efficiencies could support further margin expansion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management raised shareholder returns, noting Carnival has surpassed $450 million in stock buybacks, which supports the long-term investment case but is not enough to offset near-term guidance concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure point was weak forward guidance: Carnival’s Q3 EPS outlook of $1.35 came in below consensus, and full-year FY2026 guidance also trailed expectations, raising concerns that the earnings beat may not carry into the second half. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to geopolitical disruptions in the Mediterranean/Middle East and higher fuel costs, which are weighing on bookings and margins despite strong current-quarter operating results. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Texas has also opened an investigation into Carnival’s April data breach, adding another headline risk for the stock. Article Title

Carnival Stock Performance

Carnival stock opened at $28.75 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $27.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.37. Carnival has a 52-week low of $23.45 and a 52-week high of $34.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Carnival’s payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Insider Activity at Carnival

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 69,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,620.19. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,058 shares of company stock worth $1,524,195 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Carnival by 381.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

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.