Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Upgraded to “Buy” by Citigroup

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $30.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $20.00. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 44.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NCLH. StockNews.com raised Norwegian Cruise Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.30.

Norwegian Cruise Line Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NCLH opened at $20.82 on Wednesday. Norwegian Cruise Line has a one year low of $12.70 and a one year high of $21.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.19, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.08 and a 200 day moving average of $18.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.71.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 105.44%. Norwegian Cruise Line’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 9.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 89,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 7,812 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 26.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 111,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 23,100 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 2nd quarter valued at about $523,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 419.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 4,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the second quarter valued at approximately $193,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.