Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Purchases Shares of 14,773 Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd opened a new position in Viking Holdings in the fourth quarter, buying 14,773 shares valued at about $1.06 million.
• Viking continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 98.84% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions. Several smaller firms also increased stakes during the quarter.
• The stock has been strong, recently trading near its 52-week high of $96.54 after reporting quarterly revenue of $1.05 billion, while analysts currently rate it a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $96.38.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Viking by 19,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Viking during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Viking by 316.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Viking by 651.8% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Stock Performance

Viking stock opened at $94.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.50 and a 200-day moving average of $76.55. The firm has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.02 and a 1-year high of $96.54.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.11). Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Viking's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 6,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total value of $577,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,460,699. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total transaction of $3,720,184.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 420,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,698,365.06. This trade represents a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 92,566 shares of company stock valued at $7,657,130 over the last 90 days.

Viking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Negative Sentiment: EVP Richard Marnell disclosed multiple stock sales over June 12-16, including 11,287 shares, 6,120 shares, and 159 shares, reducing his holdings by a combined amount. Insider selling can sometimes weigh on sentiment because it may signal executives are taking profits after the stock's recent run-up. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles referenced “Viking” in a cultural or historical context, including coverage of Norway’s World Cup branding, a Viking sword discovery, and a Viking settlement dig. These stories are not tied to Viking Holdings’ operations and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: General market commentary on shipping stocks listed Viking Holdings as a company to watch, but no specific new catalysts were provided. That makes the item more of a watchlist mention than a direct stock-moving event. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Viking from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 target price on shares of Viking in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Viking from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $102.00 in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.38.

Viking 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.

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