Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.13 Million in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 447.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 215,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 176,286 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,368,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 981.9% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 109,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 99,046 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 126.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 740,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,782,000 after acquiring an additional 413,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

CCL opened at $14.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.88 and a beta of 2.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.44. Carnival Co. & plc has a 1 year low of $8.70 and a 1 year high of $19.74.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.55) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie lifted their price objective 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Bernstein sold 153,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total value 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 approximately $2,797,047.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.