UPDATE: Stifel Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Carnival Corporation & PLC Ahead of F4Q13 Report

In a report published Friday, Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski reiterated a Buy rating on Carnival Corporation & PLC (NYSE: CCL), but lowered the price target from $42.00 to $41.00.In the report, Stifel noted, “When CCL last reported results on September 24, 2013 (F3Q13 release) shares were treated to an unwelcome response from investors, closing 8% below the prior day's close. Although F3Q13 results came in ahead of the Street's expectations, most investors focused their attention on management's preliminary FY14 commentary, which established the expectation for F1H14 yields to be down in a similar range to those forecasted for F2H13. At the time, management attributed the majority of its softer than anticipated F1H14 outlook to Carnival-brand specific issues. Many sell-side analysts, including ourselves, cautioned investors from reading too much into the preliminary outlook, as we suspected a gradual improvement in Carnival-branded booking activity over the ensuing three months would lead to management's formal FY14 guidance coming in ahead of its previously established expectations.”Carnival Corporation & PLC closed on Thursday at $34.99.