Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 26,012 Shares of Carnival Corporation $CCL

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 270,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,012 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Carnival were worth $7,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Carnival by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after buying an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Carnival in the first quarter worth $228,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 61.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 11,601 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 41.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 88,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 26,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carnival by 57.0% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 23,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Carnival from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Argus set a $35.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Carnival to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.08.

Carnival Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $28.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Carnival Corporation has a 1 year low of $23.45 and a 1 year high of $34.03. The company has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.86.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Carnival’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Carnival has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.220 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Carnival’s payout ratio is currently 27.03%.

Insider Activity at Carnival

In other news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,945,587.80. The trade was a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Carnival Profile

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.