Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 109,410,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the May 15th total of 103,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Argus reduced their price target on Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.61.

Carnival Co. & Trading Up 1.7 %

CCL stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.95. 27,712,066 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,648,850. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.17 and its 200-day moving average is $16.13. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.35 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27. Carnival Co. & has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $19.74.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.55) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carnival Co. & will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 15,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Carnival Co. & by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 7.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Carnival Co. & by 0.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 206,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,379,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Carnival Co. & by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

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.