An update has recently come out An update has recently come out on Carnival Plc (CUK), in which senior leisure industry analyst Sean P. Smith is restating his Hold rating on the company's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).  We excerpted the following details:

'We maintain our Hold rating for Carnival following the release of solid third quarter operating results. We expect Carnival to continue to trade at a premium to its largest competitor over the near-term. However, given our expectation for flat operating margins and continued pricing pressure in the Caribbean, we do not feel that further material price appreciation is warranted at this time.

'Carnival has historically traded at a slight premium to Royal Caribbean
(RCL), based on forward price-to-earnings multiples. This relationship still holds, based on current prices and our forward 12-month EPS estimates for both companies.

'While Carnival plc is trading at 13.6x of estimated 2008 earnings, Royal Caribbean is currently trading at 11.4x estimated 2008 EPS. We expect Carnival to continue to trade at a premium over the near-term. Our six-month target price of $50 is based on a multiple of approximately 15x our 2008 earnings estimate.'