Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) to Strong-Buy

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NCLH. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.37.

Norwegian Cruise Line Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NCLH stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.68. 9,184,264 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,717,028. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.22. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 1-year low of $14.21 and a 1-year high of $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.97.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.03. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.270-0.270 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.100-2.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stella David purchased 6,986 shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.59 per share, for a total transaction of $129,869.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 103,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,581.66. This represents a 7.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Zillah Byng-Thorne acquired 29,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.11 per share, with a total value of $525,334.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 66,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,567.87. This trade represents a 78.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 90,029 shares of company stock worth $1,663,575. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCLH. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 126.8% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 9,081,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,179,000 after buying an additional 5,077,531 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,877,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 338.8% in the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 3,690,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,893,000 after buying an additional 2,849,349 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,620,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 626.3% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,771,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389,540 shares in the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.