Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Viking (NYSE:VIK) Stock

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on Viking to $75 (from $61) while keeping a "hold" rating, implying roughly a 3.49% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive—11 Buys, 5 Holds and 1 Sell—producing a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.33.
• Viking traded near $72.47 after reporting a quarterly EPS beat ($0.67 vs. $0.54) and 27.8% revenue growth year-over-year, though it has a high debt-to-equity ratio (4.76) and sub-1 liquidity ratios.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Truist Financial from $61.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.49% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Viking from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Viking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Viking from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Viking from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.33.

Viking Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VIK traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.47. The stock had a trading volume of 744,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,663. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $73.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Viking has a fifty-two week low of $31.79 and a fifty-two week high of $81.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.13. Viking had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 240.75%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Viking will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimize Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Viking by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,780 shares of the company's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Viking by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is owned by 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.

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