UPDATE: Stifel Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Carnival Corporation & PLC on Optimistic 2014 Outlook

In a report published Friday, Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $41.00 to $43.00. In the report, Stifel noted, “Although F4Q13 results came in $0.04 ahead of consensus, we attribute the strong price performance in CCL shares (+3% vs. SPX flat) to management's better than anticipated FY14 outlook. Recall in our preview of the quarter we urged investors to cautiously approach today's print, as we expected actual FY14 guidance to show incremental weakness relative to management's informal guidance established at the time of CCL's F3Q13 release (9/24/13). Fast forward to today, the combination of continued evidence of a Carnival brand recovery, coupled with a better than anticipated FY14 cost outlook, served to place management's formal FY14 guidance ahead of our recently lowered expectations.” Carnival Corporation & PLC closed on Thursday at $38.05.