Scott & Selber Inc. Purchases New Stake in Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Key Points

• Scott & Selber Inc. opened a new position in Viking Holdings during Q1, buying 21,296 shares worth about $1.57 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several other funds adding to positions; notably, State Street Corp massively increased its stake and now holds over 1.8 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with Viking carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $96.38, though Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock to Hold.

Scott & Selber Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Viking by 92.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter worth $303,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter worth $922,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Viking by 34,748.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,812,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its position in Viking by 275.0% in the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 30,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 22,188 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VIK shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 target price on Viking in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Viking from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Viking in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $95.00 price target on Viking and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Viking in a report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.38.

Insider Activity at Viking

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 420,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,092.50. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,566 shares of company stock valued at $7,657,130.

Key Viking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles referenced “Viking” in unrelated contexts, including the Waterford Viking Marathon, Norwegian “Viking Row” World Cup coverage, and cultural pieces about Viking history; these are not operationally meaningful for Viking Holdings but may create some noise in search and headline sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted shipping stocks to watch, which could provide a modest sector tailwind for Viking Holdings if investors are rotating into travel and transportation-related names. Shipping Stocks Worth Watching - June 17th
• Negative Sentiment: Viking Holdings Ltd. was downgraded to Hold by Wall Street Zen, which may pressure the stock slightly by signaling less near-term upside from current levels. Viking NYSE: VIK Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Viking Price Performance

VIK opened at $97.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.83 and a 200-day moving average of $77.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.78. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.02 and a 1-year high of $99.00.

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

About Viking

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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