Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,674 Shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) by 193.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,129 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,674 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 303,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,606,000 after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in Carnival Co. & during the third quarter worth $1,140,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in Carnival Co. & by 50.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,660,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,165,000 after purchasing an additional 895,603 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,161,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,463,000 after purchasing an additional 35,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCL. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival Co. & currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

Shares of CCL opened at $22.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.66. Carnival Co. & plc has a 12-month low of $13.78 and a 12-month high of $28.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.65.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 20th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.06. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Co. & Profile

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.