BNP Paribas Exane Cuts Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Price Target to $31.00

03 Oct 2026, 07:17 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Carnival (NYSE:CCL – Free Report) had its target price decreased by BNP Paribas Exane from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus set a $35.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Carnival from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Carnival from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Carnival from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Carnival from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.14.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Carnival

Carnival Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Carnival stock opened at $25.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.33. Carnival has a 52-week low of $21.45 and a 52-week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 24.83%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Carnival will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carnival

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCL. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 36.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 572,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,363,000 after purchasing an additional 154,101 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 261.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 91,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 66,100 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Carnival by 330.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,827,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,345,000 after buying an additional 2,938,650 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Carnival by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 14,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Carnival by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 130,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 35,373 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Carnival

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

Positive Sentiment: Carnival Cruise Line opened bookings for its 2028–2029 West Coast deployment, covering Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico. The expanded itinerary offering supports longer-term capacity utilization and revenue visibility. Carnival Cruise Line opens West Coast deployment
Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share and revenue beating consensus. Management commentary also pointed to record booking trends, strong pricing and sustained demand, reinforcing the view that Carnival’s earnings recovery remains intact. Carnival Corporation’s Q3 Earnings Beat
Positive Sentiment: An analysis argues that fuel and broader macroeconomic risks may be overstated, while travelers continue accepting higher cruise prices. Carnival’s new cruise AI app is also viewed as a potential way to improve customer engagement and onboard revenue. Carnival fuel and macro risks analysis
Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker raised its price target and maintained a buy rating, while Barclays reaffirmed its buy recommendation. Heavy trading in Carnival call options also indicates bullish speculative interest.
Neutral Sentiment: Carnival registered a broad shelf offering that could allow it to issue stock, debt or other securities for refinancing, investments or balance-sheet management. The added financial flexibility is useful, but no immediate issuance was announced. Carnival registers broad shelf of securities
Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane, Mizuho, Argus and Wells Fargo reduced their price targets, citing valuation, fuel-cost exposure and macroeconomic uncertainty. BMO also issued a hold rating, creating a more cautious analyst backdrop despite several remaining buy or overweight ratings.

About Carnival

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Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is a global leisure travel company that operates cruise lines and related vacation businesses. Its brands offer ocean cruises, onboard entertainment, dining, accommodation, excursions and other travel experiences to passengers across a range of price points and destinations.