Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Shares Up 9.9% – Here’s Why

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) shares shot up 9.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.34 and last traded at $26.2510. 37,145,261 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 25,801,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.89.

Key Headlines Impacting Carnival

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shares are getting a boost from a sharp drop in global oil prices, which could ease one of Carnival’s biggest operating costs and improve near-term margins. Why Carnival Stock Is Cruising Higher On Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader cruise-sector strength is also helping, with Carnival outperforming alongside Norwegian Cruise Line as investors rotate back into leisure names. Carnival Jumps 9%, Norwegian Cruise Line Soars 11%: Why Royal Caribbean Isn’t Joining the Cruise Party
• Positive Sentiment: Parent-company brands are still expanding their long-term booking pipeline, including Holland America Line’s newly opened 2028 Grand Voyages and Seabourn’s Alaska-season culinary program, which support the premium-demand story for Carnival’s portfolio. Holland America Line Opens Bookings for 2028 Grand Voyages
• Neutral Sentiment: There is also some evidence of mixed investor positioning, with recent institutional selling alongside some large additions from major funds, suggesting sentiment is improving but not uniformly bullish.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent report noted Carnival and other travel names were under pressure earlier in the week amid risk-off trading and fuel-cost sensitivity, reminding investors that the stock can still swing sharply with macro headlines. Carnival (CCL) slides 3.7% as risk-off trading and fuel-cost sensitivity weigh on cruise stocks

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CCL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Carnival from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.18.

Carnival Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.06. The firm has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $314,265 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carnival

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Carnival by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,185,000 after purchasing an additional 704,433 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,929,000 after buying an additional 291,864 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Carnival by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,576,000 after buying an additional 2,783,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Carnival by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,104,000 after buying an additional 683,311 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.