Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL)

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 81,205 put options on the company. This is an increase of 39% compared to the typical volume of 58,614 put options.

Carnival Co. & Price Performance

Shares of CCL stock traded down $1.47 on Tuesday, reaching $21.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,535,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,026,519. The company has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.64. Carnival Co. & has a 12-month low of $13.78 and a 12-month high of $28.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 20th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Carnival Co. & will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Carnival Co. & from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Carnival Co. & presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival Co. &

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 175,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Carnival Co. & by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 336,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,386,000 after purchasing an additional 203,710 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Carnival Co. & by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 86,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 18,269 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 14,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Carnival Co. & by 72.3% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,870,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.