Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $25.18, but opened at $25.78. Carnival Co. & shares last traded at $26.08, with a volume of 9,045,210 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 6.39%. Carnival Co. &'s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Carnival Co. & from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carnival Co. & currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival Co. & news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.72, for a total value of $380,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 65,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,937.08. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival Co. &

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Carnival Co. & by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 2.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 32,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 2.8% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 23,659 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 5.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,456 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Co. & Trading Up 6.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 2.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.03 and its 200-day moving average is $19.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

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.