? about CCL stock upgraded by Analysts at....

[serendipity1499]

Deutsche Bank & Citygroup from a Hold to a Buy, due to a better than ever Quarterly report..:D:D

Not sure if I'm reading the reports correctly, but I believe they seem to be predicting that the stock will go up to $56 or $57, & there will be an overall increase in profits of 3% to 4% in 2011..

My questions are for those of you who've owned the stock for a long time..

!) Am I interpreting the reports correctly?

2) Based on what has transpired before, could there be a stock split when it gets up to the predicted price..?

The market was down today, however the stock closed up at $47.09...Haven't seen it that high since we purchased it in March of 2009.. Thanks to you all, it looks like I finally made a good move in purchasing our 100 shares...Best of all we've had $600 in OBC's on our HAL cruises, plus dividends since we purchased it..:D:D

Happy New Year....:)Betty

[KirkNC]

Well I hope the analysts are correct. We just bought ours a few months ago at around $41.50 so not only are we up over $550 but we will also get a $250 OBC in June.

[andeesue]

The Dow was up 20 points today...

As long as you're cruising, hold on to those shares of CCL. It's a bonus if the price goes up when it's time (if ever) to sell. Just back from a 14-day cruise and loved that $250 OBC. And from the energetic passengers onboard, looks like there's many more cruising years ahead :)

 

sorry, don't know about stock splitting

[bepsf]

Deutsche Bank & Citygroup from a Hold to a Buy, due to a better than ever Quarterly report..:D:D

Not sure if I'm reading the reports correctly, but I believe they seem to be predicting that the stock will go up to $56 or $57, & there will be an overall increase in profits of 3% to 4% in 2011..

My questions are for those of you who've owned the stock for a long time..

!) Am I interpreting the reports correctly?

2) Based on what has transpired before, could there be a stock split when it gets up to the predicted price..?

 

Hi Betty--

 

Yes, you're reading the reports correctly...

...but that doesn't mean that these guys have a crystal ball - They've all been wrong before and they'll be wrong again.

 

Meanwhile, corporate actions such as splits have less than nothing to do with meeting analyst projections...

...and there's no upper limit to what an equity can price at before it splits - just look at Apple, Google and Berkshire Hathaway "A" Shares.

 

As I've said many times before, owning company shares with the objective to get the onboard credit is an unwise investment: If you buy 100 shares at $50, get a $100 obc and the stock drops to $49 and you sell - You haven't broken even, you've lost as you've paid commissions on the buy and sell, plus you've lost the opportunity to earn 2% ($100) interest on that $5000 in a CD or Money Market...

...and before you say "Dividends", CCL has been paying $.10/share lately - so you'd have only made $50 in the 5 dividend payments on that 100 share lot this past year. CCL paid nothing in 2009 and $80 on two $.40/share payments in 2008 while dropping from $45 to $25/share in that same year.

 

Buy CCL because you like the company and want to be a part-owner over the long term - Not to get onboard credits.

[IRL_Joanie]

A. Where can we learn more about buying Carnival Stock?

 

B. What are the benefits? I know I've seen this answer before here and on the HAL site, but meds kicked in and I cannot think straight??

 

3. How soon after buying 100 shares do the OBC's and any other benefits kick in??

 

Joanie

[bepsf]

A. Where can we learn more about buying Carnival Stock?

 

B. What are the benefits? I know I've seen this answer before here and on the HAL site, but meds kicked in and I cannot think straight??

 

3. How soon after buying 100 shares do the OBC's and any other benefits kick in??

 

Joanie

 

1. Call your stockbroker

2 & 3. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDIyNzh8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1

[Willsot]

I read that Citigroup gave CCL a price target of $56 and a buy rating. I would not predict a stock split (last one was in 1998) and a split doesn't really change your investment value. I bought 200 shares at $25 in October 08 and recently sold 100 at $40. With two $100 and two $250 onboard credits and the small dividends, it has been a worthwhile investment.

[serendipity1499]

Hi Betty--

 

Yes, you're reading the reports correctly...

...but that doesn't mean that these guys have a crystal ball - They've all been wrong before and they'll be wrong again.

 

Meanwhile, corporate actions such as splits have less than nothing to do with meeting analyst projections...

...and there's no upper limit to what an equity can price at before it splits - just look at Apple, Google and Berkshire Hathaway "A" Shares.

 

As I've said many times before, owning company shares with the objective to get the onboard credit is an unwise investment: If you buy 100 shares at $50, get a $100 obc and the stock drops to $49 and you sell - You haven't broken even, you've lost as you've paid commissions on the buy and sell, plus you've lost the opportunity to earn 2% ($100) interest on that $5000 in a CD or Money Market...

...and before you say "Dividends", CCL has been paying $.10/share lately - so you'd have only made $50 in the 5 dividend payments on that 100 share lot this past year. CCL paid nothing in 2009 and $80 on two $.40/share payments in 2008 while dropping from $45 to $25/share in that same year.

 

Buy CCL because you like the company and want to be a part-owner over the long term - Not to get onboard credits.

 

Thanks Brian...Oh I understand that's it's not a wise investment just for OBC's & I would never buy it now at this high price..

Fortunately I bought it at $18.25 a share & have already had $600 in OBC's, plus the five dividends, so I'm ahead of the game for now..

However, just out of curiosity wondered if & when CCL normally would decide to split..I'm sure they have a pattern of splitting over the years & figured someone who has held it for years, might have a clue..Was just looking over our accounts & paying for our next cruise & my curiosity got the best of me again..

Joanie, it's not a good idea to buy it now as it's much too high, unless you just want to be an owner in the company, as Brian pointed out..100 shares would cost you close to $5,000 & It would take years for you to get the OBC's equal to what you would have to pay for it now..The OBC's are for cruises of:

3-6days $50.total

7-13 days $100.total

14 or more days $250.total.

.

I was toying with buying it in Nov of 2008 when it was around $15.02 a share, as had been tracking it for months..But I was chicken, & didn't actually buy it until it hit $18.25 a share plus the commission..I'm only sorry that I didn't buy a little more, but I'm a bit shy when it comes to purchasing stock..I bought Steinmart & lost my shirt & then Euro=Disney & lost my shirt again, both against our Broker's recommendations..He didn't object when I told him to buy the CCL though..

When you buy CCL you can either go through a Broker & pay commission, or believe you can also buy it on-line..I'm not sure how the commission works if you buy it on=line...As soon as you own the stock & send HAL the proof, you will get the OBC's..

Happy New Year...

Betty

[serendipity1499]

I read that Citigroup gave CCL a price target of $56 and a buy rating. I would not predict a stock split (last one was in 1998) and a split doesn't really change your investment value. I bought 200 shares at $25 in October 08 and recently sold 100 at $40. With two $100 and two $250 onboard credits and the small dividends, it has been a worthwhile investment.

 

See you did the smart thing & bought more..I should have bought 200 shares...As a matter of fact DH said do it, but I didn't.. Now I'm kicking myself..LOL

Betty

[m steve]

and buy 100 shares for between $5-10 for the purchase. Once you own it, just send a copy of the stock purchase to the Carnival line you are sailing on and you will recieve the OBC. I have had well over $1000 in credits since buying the stock. It's now close to what I paid. And I have 5+ shares in reinvested dividends. Sam Waterston is my broker.

[IRL_Joanie]

1. Call your stockbroker

2 & 3. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDIyNzh8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1

 

Hubby has some sort of matching Stock program (some kind of k) set up through his company. He puts in a certain amount every month and the company matches it. He is going to check into buying Carnival stock today. As to the price, that does not really matter to him, so he says, as as of yesterday he has over $160k in his stocks. So I think if they allow him to transfer some of the stock, he will be very happy.

 

Thanks to everyone for the info and help.

 

Joanie

[JJPacer]

I had it put into a Roth IRA Brokerage account. It's not going to make us rich or give us substantial retirment funds. We bought it when the market tanked, and have enjoyed the OBC. Having it as a Roth IRA is a bonus.

[CruiserBruce]

If you are hoping for, or envisioning a split, the obvious action would be to wait for it to split, then buy. That is a 50% off (essentially) sale price!

[Cinder Again]

I bought it at about $25 a share years ago, saw it rise into the 40's, then plummet into the teens, with the recession, now rising again.

For several years, I averaged 3 cruises a year, getting OBC on each one. I figured that was a bonus, since it was a tax free "dividend" of sorts. FYI, I also bought Royal Caribbean, and it has done well too, and I got a OBC on Celebrity with that. I'm not sure if they still offer that as I haven't sailed them in a few years...

My stock broker originally couldn't understand why I bought it, but then called and wanted me to buy extra when the price dropped based on it's long term performance. Seems like cruising is here to stay. I think people like cruising, because it's affordable, and at least somewhat "price fixed" so they can budget in these tougher times.

I wouldn't buy just for the OBC, but it's a nice perk, and you can usually get it in combination with other credits, so that is nice...

[DFD1]

IMO, advising someone not to buy it now is a mistake.

 

The stock has gone up 7 dollars in the last 60 days (approx). With a reasonable target price of $56, forcast by knowledgable people, it would appear to be a reasonable buy now.

 

Waiting for it to go back to $15 or $18 might mean a long wait.

 

My broker reacted with skepticism when I bought it originally. He now recommends it. Sometimes brokers only work the issues which are sanctioned by their firm. Anything else is like a foreign language to some of them. I think it's called CYA.....LOL

[peaches from georgia]

Hubby has some sort of matching Stock program (some kind of k) set up through his company. He puts in a certain amount every month and the company matches it. He is going to check into buying Carnival stock today. As to the price, that does not really matter to him, so he says, as as of yesterday he has over $160k in his stocks. So I think if they allow him to transfer some of the stock, he will be very happy.

 

Thanks to everyone for the info and help.

 

Joanie

Not saying CCL is not a good buy, have no idea, but how can price not matter when making an investment?

[serendipity1499]

IMO, advising someone not to buy it now is a mistake.

 

The stock has gone up 7 dollars in the last 60 days (approx). With a reasonable target price of $56, forcast by knowledgable people, it would appear to be a reasonable buy now.

 

Waiting for it to go back to $15 or $18 might mean a long wait.

 

My broker reacted with skepticism when I bought it originally. He now recommends it. Sometimes brokers only work the issues which are sanctioned by their firm. Anything else is like a foreign language to some of them. I think it's called CYA.....LOL

 

Agree with you in part..However, as we all know & Brian pointed out, the analysts have been known to be completely wrong...LOL:)...Also, I wasn't advising any one not to buy it now....I said don't buy it now just for the OBC, which Joanie was asking about...I took her post to mean that she & her DH are only interested in the perks, not for an investment.. If one wants it for an investment that's a different story..

BTW your figures are not totally correct...It went up about $4.00 in 60 days..I've been tracking it twice a week for more than two years..On Oct 29 it closed at $43.17 & on Nov. 4 it closed at $43.57..It opened today around $47.50..

When I bought it, for once my Broker did not try to talk me out of it..Guess it was because I was only buying 100 shares..LOL

Let's hope the analysts are right this time...

Cheers....:)Betty

[GmaPajama]

I'm one of those that bought CCL strictly for the OBC's. The only stock I ever bought without a profit in mind - and the only stock I ever bought that didn't get "Donna's kiss of death".

 

There's a reason I normally let DH make those decisions. :)

[bepsf]

If you are hoping for, or envisioning a split, the obvious action would be to wait for it to split, then buy. That is a 50% off (essentially) sale price!

 

And you'd be getting 50% of the ownership percentage in turn...

Lets say there are 5MM shares in circulation - the percentage of ownership for your 100 shares would be 1/50,000th of the company.

After a 1-2 split, there would be 10MM shares in circulation - Therefore an owner who had 100 shares would then have 200 but their percentage of ownership would remain the same, yet a new buyer of 100 shares post-split would gain only 1/100,000th ownership of the company.

[bepsf]

IMO, advising someone not to buy it now is a mistake.

 

The stock has gone up 7 dollars in the last 60 days (approx). With a reasonable target price of $56, forcast by knowledgable people, it would appear to be a reasonable buy now.

 

Waiting for it to go back to $15 or $18 might mean a long wait.

 

My broker reacted with skepticism when I bought it originally. He now recommends it. Sometimes brokers only work the issues which are sanctioned by their firm. Anything else is like a foreign language to some of them. I think it's called CYA.....LOL

 

History has shown that when stock analysts are making "Buy" recommendations - It's frequently a great time to sell...

...and when they recommend "Sell" - it's often a great time to buy.

People are always chasing the market - they frequently end up buying high and selling low - and when people are being told "Buy", in order to act on that they've got to buy it from somebody...

...so it might as well be you.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hubby has some sort of matching Stock program (some kind of k) set up through his company. He puts in a certain amount every month and the company matches it. He is going to check into buying Carnival stock today. As to the price, that does not really matter to him, so he says, as as of yesterday he has over $160k in his stocks. So I think if they allow him to transfer some of the stock, he will be very happy.

 

Thanks to everyone for the info and help.

 

Joanie

 

Joanie, it's called a 401K and your husband obviously has a very generous matching program for his investments.

 

However, the price definitely matters for many reasons not the least of which is how many shares you get for your dollar, and also because if you buy high, you stand to lose more if/when it goes down. Buying low, or on the rise, is always the best way to go.

 

He can always shift around stocks within his 401K. But he'd be selling other stocks that might also be lucrative.

 

We have RCI stock now for years and only recently are we where we were when we started ... goes up/comes down, etc. But when you invest long term you will almost always be rewarded ... we certainly have been and we've been through the worst of times.

 

Finally, this may not be the best place to broadcast how much money you have invested in the market ...jmo.

[bepsf]

Hubby has some sort of matching Stock program (some kind of k) set up through his company. He puts in a certain amount every month and the company matches it.

 

Most 401K's are invested in Mutual Funds - not directly in equity or debt securities.

Employers never match purchases in other company's stock - they may match purchases made of their own company stock within an employee stock purchase plan, but most often they simply match investments in the mutual funds within employee 401K's up to a certain dollar amount.

[CaveDiving]

...owning company shares with the objective to get the onboard credit is an unwise investment: If you buy 100 shares at $50, get a $100 obc and the stock drops to $49 and you sell - You haven't broken even, you've lost as you've paid commissions on the buy and sell, plus you've lost the opportunity to earn 2% ($100) interest on that $5000 in a CD or Money Market...

...and before you say "Dividends", CCL has been paying $.10/share lately - so you'd have only made $50 in the 5 dividend payments on that 100 share lot this past year. CCL paid nothing in 2009 and $80 on two $.40/share payments in 2008 while dropping from $45 to $25/share in that same year.

 

Buy CCL because you like the company and want to be a part-owner over the long term - Not to get onboard credits.

 

Hi Brian,

 

I appreciate your comments but I need to say that in my case, I absolutely and completely disagree with your analysis. I bought CCL stock purely for the OBC and am glad that I have done so. The rise or fall of the stock price, although interesting, was not a major consideration.

 

Karen and I cruise a great deal on HAL and for the years since buying the 100 shares of stock (for around $3,000 by the way) we have averaged around $1,000 each year in OBCs. I kind of think that this is a rather great investment.

 

To me the investment is similar to a bond I bought in a ski area in New Hampshire around forty years ago. The bond was for $1,000 with a couple of percent interest rate (not particularly great at the time), but it carried free skiing privileges at the ski area. And that was worth several hundred dollars a year. I kept the bond for five or six years and enjoyed the free skiing immensely.

 

Sometimes the perks are worth far more than the basic return from the investment. And for us, this is the case for owning CCL stock

[CowPrincess]

I'm another one who bought the stock just for the OBCs. I hold it in my RRSP (similar, I think to a 401K in the US). The OBC is a great tax-free dividend, paid in US $ (The US $ denomination is not so exciting at this precise moment but has been very beneficial in the past.) I can't touch my RRSP for many years yet -- getting the OBC is an excellent perk, and does help defray our cruising costs.

 

I'm pleased the stock is rising in value, but until I am ready to sell it, the price has no effect on my life.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also bought the stock many, many years ago -- for the shipboard credit.

 

Know that we have made out as we bought it at $12 a share!!