Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK Stock: Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Holdings

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its Viking Holdings stake by 71.6% in the third quarter, selling 940,659 shares and retaining 373,907 shares valued at approximately $29.3 million.
• Viking reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, beating estimates of $1.26, while revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $2.19 billion. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.84% of the company.
• Despite shares trading at $83.29, below analysts’ average price target of $106.83, Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus, supported by multiple Buy and Strong Buy ratings.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 373,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 940,659 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.08% of Viking worth $29,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VIK. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Viking by 19.8% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 581,948 shares of the company's stock worth $42,762,000 after purchasing an additional 96,166 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Viking in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,535,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viking in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,317,000. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Viking in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. Finally, Scholtz & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,744,000. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Price Performance

Shares of Viking stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.29. 3,167,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,410,816. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 1 year low of $56.37 and a 1 year high of $110.09. The company has a market capitalization of $37.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Viking had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 117.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VIK. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Viking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Benchmark upgraded Viking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Viking from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Viking from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.83.

Insider Transactions at Viking

In related news, EVP Milton Hugh sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.57, for a total transaction of $1,711,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 585,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,107,310.47. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Viking Company Profile

Viking Holdings Ltd. is a travel and hospitality company that operates a fleet of river, ocean and expedition cruise vessels under the Viking brand. The company focuses on destination-oriented travel for adults, offering itineraries that combine cruise accommodations with cultural, historical and nature-based experiences.

Viking's river cruises operate on waterways in Europe, including the Rhine, Danube, Seine, Rhône and Douro, as well as in other regions such as Asia, Egypt and the Mississippi River in the United States.

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