Carnival Corporation (CCL) is about to tell us whether the cruise boom is still sailing smoothly. The Miami-based cruise operator will release its fourth quarter earnings results before markets open on Friday, December 19.
Wall Street is expecting solid growth from Carnival's latest quarter. Analysts have penciled in earnings of 25 cents per share, which would represent a substantial jump from the 14 cents per share reported in the year-ago period. That's almost doubling earnings year-over-year, which isn't nothing.
Revenue expectations are equally optimistic. The consensus estimate sits at $6.37 billion, compared to $5.94 billion in last year's fourth quarter. And Carnival has a pretty impressive track record when it comes to clearing the bar that analysts set: the company has beaten revenue estimates for six consecutive quarters and in nine of the last ten quarters overall.
Carnival shares edged up 1.1% on Thursday to close at $28.34, suggesting investors are feeling reasonably confident heading into the earnings report.
What the Most Accurate Analysts Are Saying
Several analysts with strong accuracy records have weighed in recently with updated price targets and ratings. Here's what they're thinking:
UBS analyst Robin Farley, who boasts a 76% accuracy rate, maintained a Buy rating and bumped the price target from $35 to $37 on December 18. That's a vote of confidence right before earnings.
Susquehanna analyst Christopher Stathoulopoulos went even more bullish. With a 78% accuracy rate, he maintained a Positive rating and raised his price target from $35 to $40 on December 16. That's the highest target among this group.
Not everyone is raising targets, though. Barclays analyst Brandt Montour, who has a 66% accuracy rate, kept his Overweight rating but trimmed the price target from $37 to $36 on December 17. Similarly, Citigroup analyst James Hardiman, with a 68% accuracy rate, maintained a Buy rating but reduced his target from $38 to $36 on December 12.
Wells Fargo analyst Trey Bowers rounded out the recent commentary by maintaining an Overweight rating and nudging the price target up from $34 to $35 on December 12. His accuracy rate stands at 62%.
The pattern here is interesting: all five analysts maintain bullish ratings (Buy, Overweight, or Positive), but opinions are split on whether the stock has more room to run in the near term. Price targets range from $35 to $40, all significantly above the current price of $28.34, suggesting most analysts see upside potential even if they're trimming expectations slightly.
