Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Stock Has Average Target Price of $34.45

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.14.

A number of brokerages have commented on CCL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Carnival from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Carnival from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $32.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Carnival by 36.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 572,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,363,000 after buying an additional 154,101 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 261.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 91,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after acquiring an additional 66,100 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival by 330.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,827,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938,650 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 14,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 130,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 35,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of CCL stock opened at $25.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.33. Carnival has a twelve month low of $21.45 and a twelve month high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Carnival had a return on equity of 24.83% and a net margin of 11.37%.The business had revenue of $8.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Carnival will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is 27.03%.

Key Carnival News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 performance: Carnival beat earnings and revenue expectations, exceeded its June guidance by more than $100 million, and reported record revenue, net income and net yields. The company also raised its fiscal 2026 EPS outlook to $2.24. Carnival Corporation earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Record 2027 demand: About half of Carnival’s 2027 inventory is already booked at record occupancy and pricing. This supports revenue visibility and suggests the company has pricing power despite broader economic concerns. Carnival stock and 2027 bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and options activity: Freedom Broker raised its target to $36 and initiated a buy rating. Barclays reaffirmed its buy rating, while Wells Fargo, Argus and BNP Paribas Exane retained bullish ratings. High-volume call-option buying also indicates speculative optimism. Barclays Carnival rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed target revisions: Mizuho, Argus, Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price targets following the earnings report, while maintaining positive ratings. BMO Capital initiated a hold rating, reflecting some caution about valuation and upcoming cost pressures.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks remain: Carnival expects softer fourth-quarter EPS than analysts anticipated and flagged higher fuel costs and potential first-quarter headwinds. Fuel expenses rose sharply, although strong demand and pricing more than offset the increase in the latest quarter. Carnival earnings call highlights

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is a global leisure travel company that operates cruise lines and related vacation businesses. Its brands offer ocean cruises, onboard entertainment, dining, accommodation, excursions and other travel experiences to passengers across a range of price points and destinations.

The company’s portfolio includes Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.