Carnival PLC (LSE:CCL) shares rose 4.5% on Tuesday to top the FTSE 350 leaderboard after the shares were upgraded by Peel Hunt. The broker moved its recommendation to 'buy' from 'add' for the cruise opeator, with a new target price of 1,300p up from 1,100p.
Carnival Corporation stock remains below its pre-COVID highs. I urged investors to sell CCL in June 2023. CCL's relative underperformance against the market has justified my bearish thesis. Carnival's Q1 earnings release showed impressive net yields recovery and solid growth dynamics.
Carnival kicked off 2024 with record bookings and customer deposits. New capacity and higher pricing are driving growth.
Finding stocks expected to beat quarterly earnings estimates becomes an easier task with our Zacks Earnings ESP.
Carnival is reporting its best-booked position ever, but its stock trades at a dirt-cheap valuation. Chipotle is performing as well as ever, and it just announced a 50-for-1 stock split.
Given how well the cruise line industry is performing right now, figuring out which cruise stocks to buy, rather than cruise stocks to sell, may be what's top of mind among more investors. After all, cruise line stocks have surged in a big way since 2023, as the sector's post-pandemic recovery gained momentum, resulting in massive improvements in revenue and profitability.
Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have largely recovered from the pandemic, but investors are wary.
Disney and Carnival both experienced hard times during early pandemic days. Both of these players are progressing along the recovery path and offer bright long-term prospects.
Even though inflation is still taking a massive bite out of household budgets, demand for cruises has been surging. Many major cruise operators reported record demand in recent weeks.
In the most recent trading session, Carnival (CCL) closed at $16.20, indicating a +0.68% shift from the previous trading day.
Norwegian Cruise Line increased its full-year guidance for the second time this month. All three stocks are now trading for less than 12 times next year's projected earnings.
Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL – Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,826 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCL. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Carnival Co. & by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Carnival Co. & during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Carnival Co. & Price Performance Shares of CCL stock opened at $15.00 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.81. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.69 and a beta of 2.53. Carnival Co. & plc has a 1-year low of $10.38 and a 1-year high of $19.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 7.75% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.55) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival Co. & currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.58. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Carnival Co. & Carnival Co. & Profile (Free Report) Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches.