Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Shares Up 5.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) shares traded up 5.1% during trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $29.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Norwegian Cruise Line traded as high as $20.63 and last traded at $20.44. 2,763,059 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 12,956,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.44.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NCLH. StockNews.com raised shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NCLH. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 9.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 89,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 7,812 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 419.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in the second quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 4.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 511,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,609,000 after purchasing an additional 19,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.96 and a 200-day moving average of $18.06. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.19.

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

Norwegian Cruise Line Company Profile

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.