Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Viking Holdings by 174.6% in the first quarter, buying 43,341 additional shares to bring its total to 68,157 shares worth about $4.94 million.
• Viking reported Q1 revenue of $1.05 billion, topping expectations, while earnings per share came in at -$0.11, matching estimates. Revenue rose 17.5% from a year earlier.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on the stock, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $103.39; analysts at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others recently raised their targets.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) by 174.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,157 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,341 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Viking were worth $4,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VIK. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Viking during the 4th quarter worth $1,114,000. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking during the fourth quarter valued at $3,213,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Viking during the fourth quarter valued at $1,151,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 956,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,278,000 after purchasing an additional 269,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,071,000. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of VIK stock opened at $100.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.36. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27.

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). Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Viking's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VIK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Viking from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Viking from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Viking from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,092.50. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,166.

Viking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking revealed the names of its next two ocean ships, reinforcing the company’s growth pipeline and ongoing fleet expansion strategy, which can support longer-term revenue visibility. Viking Reveals Names of Its Next Two Ocean Ships
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles covered a dispute involving a different “Viking ship” tied to the film The Odyssey; this appears unrelated to Viking Holdings’ cruise business and is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on VIK shares. ‘The Odyssey’ Hired Their Viking Ship. They Say It Came Back Damaged.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other history-focused “Viking” stories about ancient burials, treasure, and swords are not related to Viking Holdings’ operations and should not affect the stock. New evidence shows 'Viking burials' predate Vikings
• Neutral Sentiment: A cruise-industry note about guests receiving an overbooking offer suggests continued demand management in the sector, but it does not appear to be a major catalyst on its own. Viking Cruise Guests Stunned by Generous Overbooking Offer

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.

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