Macquarie Research raised its 12-month price target for Carnival (NYSE:CCL) from $16 to $22 per share, maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock. The analysts cited Carnival’s strong fourth-quarter results as a key factor in the revised outlook. The company demonstrated robust performance in major metrics and bookings, with higher-than-expected pricing, though costs remained high.
The analysts noted that Carnival is progressing well with its SEA Change initiative, expecting to achieve more than half of its goal by fiscal year 2024. The increased price target is based on expectations of normalized operations in FY25, stable pricing, reduced cost challenges, and lower fuel prices.
Macquarie adjusted its earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Carnival, now expecting $0.92 for FY24 and $1.39 for FY25, an increase from previous estimates of $0.85 and $1.43. The firm also introduced a new FY26 adjusted EPS estimate of $1.71.
The firm believes several factors could influence Carnival’s stock, including consumer macro trends, interest rates, inflation, geopolitical events, fuel costs, and weather conditions.