Planned Solutions Inc. Takes Position in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 447.6% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 215,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 176,286 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,368,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 981.9% in the third quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 109,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after buying an additional 99,046 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 126.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 740,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,782,000 after buying an additional 413,082 shares during the period. Finally, Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Carnival Co. & by 50.8% during the third quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

NYSE:CCL opened at $16.34 on Friday. Carnival Co. & plc has a 52 week low of $8.70 and a 52 week high of $19.74. The firm has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.16 and a beta of 2.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last released 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 negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 0.02%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.55) earnings per share. Carnival Co. &’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Bernstein sold 153,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total transaction of $2,366,903.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 181,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,047.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Carnival Co. & from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Carnival Co. & has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.42.

Carnival Co. & 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.