Carnival Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CCL)

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 77,558 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the typical volume of 52,862 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Carnival from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Carnival from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carnival in a report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on Carnival from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Carnival in a research note on Friday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carnival currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

Carnival Stock Performance

NYSE:CCL traded down $1.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,315,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,412,881. Carnival has a 12 month low of $15.07 and a 12 month high of $34.03. The firm has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.59 and a 200-day moving average of $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Carnival had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.170-0.170 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.48 EPS. Research analysts expect that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.00%.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Carnival by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,913,190,000 after acquiring an additional 368,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Carnival by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,850 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in Carnival by 0.8% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,929,000 after purchasing an additional 291,864 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carnival by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,576,000 after buying an additional 2,783,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,617,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,398,000 after buying an additional 1,906,110 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company’s core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.