Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Viking (NYSE:VIK) Price Target to $78.00

Viking (NYSE:VIK) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

VIK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Viking from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Viking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Viking from $63.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.40.

Viking Stock Performance

Shares of VIK opened at $67.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.24 and a 200 day moving average of $67.45. The company has a market capitalization of $30.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Viking has a 12 month low of $31.79 and a 12 month high of $81.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 240.75% and a net margin of 17.65%.The business’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimize Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Viking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Viking by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Viking by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Viking by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viking by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking announced the float-out of the Viking Libra, a 54,300‑ton, hydrogen-capable cruise ship designed to operate with zero operational emissions; delivery is scheduled for November 2026 and the ship will serve Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries — a clear ESG and product-differentiation positive that could support long-term revenue and pricing power. Viking Announces Float-Out of the World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Cruise Ship
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts (e.g., Morgan Stanley per media coverage) view Viking as undervalued amid oil-price volatility — this suggests upside if fuel / macro conditions stabilize, but it’s a conditional/market-dependent thesis rather than an immediate catalyst. Amid oil price panic, Carnival and Viking are called undervalued by Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Local / brand engagement items (e.g., fan events and festival coverage) increase consumer visibility but are unlikely to move near‑term earnings or the share price materially. Viking enthusiasts to invade Fouke, Arkansas, for Spring Awakening Festival
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $82 to $78 and kept an “equal weight” rating — a modest analyst headwind that can pressure sentiment; coupled with Viking’s high leverage (debt/equity ~4.76) and low liquidity ratios (current ratio ~0.79, quick ratio ~0.77), investors may be wary of capital structure risks and shorter-term volatility. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Viking

Viking Company Profile

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships.