Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Macquarie increased 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.30.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

Shares of NCLH stock opened at $24.30 on Monday. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 52 week low of $12.70 and a 52 week high of $24.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 2.71.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 105.44% and a net margin of 4.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. Norwegian Cruise Line’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NCLH. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 117,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 201,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 10,174 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 7,708 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. 69.58% of the stock is 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.