5 Best Cruise Stocks to Buy Now

3. Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) is a leisure travel company. Its ships go through about 700 ports under the brands of Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), Seabourn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), and Cunard. The stock ranks 3rd on our list of the best cruise stocks to buy now.

On June 23rd, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) announced plans to restart its cruises in the US, Caribbean, and Europe. The company also said on June 24th that its cash burn rate had improved more than expected because of the timing of proceeds from ship sales. The company stated that it ended the quarter with $9.3 billion, which it claims is enough funds to restart its cruise operations. This June, Stifel reiterated its Buy rating and $37 price target on Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL).

In the first quarter of 2021, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL) brought in EPS of -$1.79, alongside revenue valued at $26 million. The stock has also gained 32.94% in the past 6 months and 35.94% year to date.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 44 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL). Their total stake value was roughly $593 million. This is compared to 47 hedge fund holders with a total stake value of roughly $1.19 billion in the previous quarter.

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, mentioned Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL)  in their first-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here’s what they said:

“Several of our better performers in the first quarter were purchased while their business models were under stress from COVID restrictions or the macro environment the pandemic created. What gave us confidence in purchasing Carnival was the actions the company took to extend out their balance sheets until travel resumed. Both should benefit as a broader vaccination rollout prompts cruise lines to resume operations and consumers to start traveling again and are positioned to deliver better margins and gain pricing power as the economy normalizes due to the cost controls implemented during the downturn.”