Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CUK) Short Interest Up 19.7% in February

Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CUK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,160,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the February 13th total of 4,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Carnival Co. & Stock Performance

Shares of CUK traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,567,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,177. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 2.72. Carnival Co. & has a 52 week low of $12.50 and a 52 week high of $26.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.67.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 20th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Carnival Co. & will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Carnival Co. & by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Carnival Co. & in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Plc operates as a global cruise and vacation company. The firm offers holiday and vacation products to a customer base that is broadly varied in terms of cultures, languages and leisure-time preferences. It operates through the North America and Australia (NAA), Europe and Asia (EA), Cruise Support, and Tour and Other segments.