Viking (NYSE:VIK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Viking (NYSE:VIK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on VIK. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Viking in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Viking from $76.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Viking from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.38.

Viking Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VIK opened at $89.85 on Monday. Viking has a 1-year low of $46.06 and a 1-year high of $93.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Viking will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total transaction of $3,720,184.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 420,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIK. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Viking in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Viking by 19,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Viking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking by 316.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Viking by 651.8% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.