On Thursday Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) will report Q4 earnings. Wall Street is expecting EPS of 11 cents on revenue of $3.54 billion. Investors are also eager to get a first look at Carnival's 2013 guidance. In the view of analysts at Nomura, guidance could be conservative.

"We caution investors not to expect too bullish a forecast from CCL for several reasons," said analyst Harry C. Curtis. "CCL is historically conservative with its guidance. This year may warrant even more caution given two years of event-driven, lower than-guidance yield (Arab Spring and Concordia). No doubt, CCL's management would like to return to exceeding expectations."

Curtis said CCL's outlook has been based largely on booked demand thus far, which includes business booked when pricing was lower following the Concordia disaster.

"If guidance is conservative, as we expect it to be, and both CCL and Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) pull back, we would buy both on weakness," he said.

Nomura Securities has a Buy rating on Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and a price target of $42.00.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Carnival Corporation click here. For more ratings news on Carnival Corporation click here.

Shares of Carnival Corporation closed at $38.60 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $29.15-$39.40.

Analyst Comments Analyst EPS View

Enter Carnival (CCL) Stock at $35 to $36, Says NomuraDecember 21, 2012 9:31 AM