Norges Bank Makes New $124.20 Million Investment in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,066,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,201,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.33% of Carnival as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Carnival by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after buying an additional 368,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Carnival by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,459,000 after buying an additional 1,845,850 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,929,000 after acquiring an additional 291,864 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,104,000 after acquiring an additional 683,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carnival from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.80.

Carnival Price Performance

NYSE CCL opened at $27.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.06. Carnival Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.11 and a 52-week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

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