Picked up Carnival Cruise Lines at $31.29 today.  Carnival has steadily grown free cash flow over the last decade.  My Intrinsic Value calcs place a value at about $58, so I’m getting it at a significant discount.  Still, this was a tough decision.  Here was a few things weighing on me:

-CCL has already nearly doubled since its Bear market low.  Yet that’s no reason to avoid.  (Price does not equal Value)
-I’m not in the mood to buy stocks.  I’ve been expecting the market to take a breather (or worse) and present better prices.  Mr. Market just doesn’t want to comply.
-Certain bondholders have a right to convert to common stock at higher prices.  This will act as a negative as prices rise.
-Carnival is not an Energy or Healthcare stock, which my portfolio is full of and they’ve done so well for me this year.  Maybe some diversification is a good thing.

Despite any reservations, I went into CCL with my normal 3% of portfolio in this position.

In other news, my holding Dish Network (NYSE: DISH), the No. 2 U.S. satellite TV provider, beat Wall Street forecasts by posting a gain of 241,000 subscribers in the third quarter and surprised investors with a plan to pay shareholders a special dividend of $2 a share.  DISH hit a 52-week high today on the news.