Reviewing Carnival (CCL) and Its Peers

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) is one of 383 public companies in the “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Carnival to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Carnival has a beta of 2.48, indicating that its stock price is 148% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carnival’s rivals have a beta of 1.42, indicating that their average stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Carnival and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carnival	$26.62 billion	$2.76 billion	12.75
Carnival Competitors	$3.43 billion	$250.18 million	-160.79

Carnival has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Carnival is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Carnival and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carnival	0	8	22	1	2.77
Carnival Competitors	3839	17331	25651	910	2.50

Carnival currently has a consensus target price of $34.16, suggesting a potential upside of 17.01%. As a group, “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies have a potential upside of 53.00%. Given Carnival’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Carnival has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.2% of Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.6% of shares of all “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies are owned by institutional investors. 7.9% of Carnival shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.0% of shares of all “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Carnival and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carnival	11.37%	24.83%	6.32%
Carnival Competitors	8.44%	-42.19%	1.97%

Dividends

Carnival pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Carnival pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 38.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Carnival beats its rivals on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc is a global cruise company that operates cruise lines and provides ship-based vacations. Its brands include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, and P&O Cruises. The company’s offerings include cruise itineraries, onboard accommodations, dining and entertainment, as well as shore excursions and other guest experiences. Its ships serve destinations across regions including the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Australia and Asia.