Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) came under pressure in early trading on Thursday, after climbing earlier in the week on lower crude oil prices.
The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter results before the market opens on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Here are some key analyst takeaways:
- Bank of America Securities analyst Andrew Didora reiterated a Buy rating, while cutting the price target from $42 to $38.
- JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss maintained an Overweight rating, while lowering the price target from $43 to $39.
Bank of America Securities: Carnival's stock has traded down 27% since August, with Brent oil having risen by more than 30% amid renewed Middle East tensions, Didora said in a note. While the company is the only unhedged cruise line and "remains uniquely exposed to higher fuel prices," this is likely to adversely impact its fourth-quarter earnings much more than its earnings in the third quarter, he added.
Although there are concerns around industry pricing with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NCLH) altering its booking curve, "recent datapoints have been stable to positive," supported by improving cruise spend and recent cruise commentary suggesting resilient overall demand, the analyst stated.
He expects Carnival to report its third-quarter earnings at $1.35 per share, in line with the guidance.
JPMorgan: Recent meetings with Carnival's management and industry fieldwork suggest that the company fundamentals remain intact, Boss said. For the third quarter, he expects Carnival to report:
- Adjusted EBITDA of $2.863 billion, versus Street expectations of $2.914 billion.
- Net yield growth of 1.3% in constant-currency terms, in line with Street expectations.
- Fuel expense of $640 million, versus management's guidance of $620 million.
The analyst expects fourth quarter outlook:
- Adjusted EBITDA of $1.336 billion, lower than Street expectations of $1.369 billion, due to fuel cost headwinds.
- Net yield growth of 1.6% in constant-currency terms, in line with Street expectations.
CCL Price Action: Shares of Carnival had declined by 1.56% to $21.46 at the time of publication on Thursday.
