Golden State Equity Partners Acquires New Shares in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new stake in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Carnival by 153.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 336,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,386,000 after purchasing an additional 203,710 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Carnival by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 86,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 18,269 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth $59,486,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,249,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,745,000 after acquiring an additional 223,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth $5,715,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CCL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Carnival in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Carnival from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.68.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCL opened at $25.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Carnival Corporation has a 1 year low of $13.78 and a 1 year high of $28.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.89 and its 200 day moving average is $22.83.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

About Carnival

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.