NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Carnival Corp. are higher by 2.49% to $48.95 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, after analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded the cruise line operator to "outperform" from "market perform." The firm said it raised its rating on Carnival due to a price recovery and the company's improving fundamentals. Wells Fargo also believes easy comparisons and an improving European economy should result in 25% annual earnings growth in the full year 2015 and full year 2016, theflyonthewall.com reports, adding that Wells Fargo is confident on Carnival's net yields and finds shares attractive at current levels. Wells Fargo upped its price target range on Carnival to between $52 and $54 from a range of $48 to $50. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates CARNIVAL CORP/PLC (USA) as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate CARNIVAL CORP/PLC (USA) (CCL) a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, reasonable valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year. CARNIVAL CORP/PLC (USA) reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, CARNIVAL CORP/PLC (USA) increased its bottom line by earning $1.58 versus $1.38 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.48 versus $1.58). The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry. The net income increased by 345.0% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$20.00 million to $49.00 million. Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 61.63% to $771.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of 36.99%. You can view the full analysis from the report here: CCL Ratings Report Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 25 Stocks for 2015
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