Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.16, but opened at $24.46. Norwegian Cruise Line shares last traded at $23.95, with a volume of 2,348,330 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NCLH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 increased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.63.

Norwegian Cruise Line Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.19, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 2.71.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCLH. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.1% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 45,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.