Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Viking Holdings has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 18 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $98.18.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed but leaned positive, including Truist Financial upgrading the stock to buy and JPMorgan raising its target to $104, while some firms kept cautious or bearish views.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executives Richard Marnell and Jeffrey Dash selling shares and insiders collectively selling 63,935 shares worth about $5.36 million over the last 90 days.

Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.1765.

VIK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Viking from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Viking from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 6,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total transaction of $577,116.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,460,699. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total value of $3,720,184.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 420,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 a total of 63,935 shares of company stock worth $5,360,351 in the last ninety days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Viking in the 4th quarter valued at about $372,297,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Viking by 32.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,048,357 shares of the company's stock worth $873,246,000 after buying an additional 3,471,244 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viking by 316.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426,297 shares of the company's stock worth $316,082,000 after buying an additional 3,364,265 shares in the last quarter. Dream Peak Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Viking during the fourth quarter worth about $223,744,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Viking by 34,748.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,812,120 shares of the company's stock worth $96,568,000 after buying an additional 1,806,920 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets upgraded Viking to “strong-buy”, which could support investor sentiment by signaling confidence in the cruise operator’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Viking was mentioned in shipping-stock roundups, but those articles appear to be broad sector lists rather than company-specific catalysts. Top Shipping Stocks To Follow Today - July 7th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent stories reference “Viking” in a historical or sports context, including longboats, Viking spirit, and Norway’s World Cup run, but these do not appear related to Viking Holdings’ business performance. I sail the world in a replica 10th-century Viking longboat
• Neutral Sentiment: Passionate trading activity and media coverage around “Viking” themes may keep the ticker in view, but they are unlikely to change fundamentals on their own. Ship enthusiast cites ‘Viking spirit’ as Norway ready for England clash
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity skewed bearish, with traders buying far more put options than usual, suggesting some investors are positioning for downside or hedging against weakness. Tickerreport.com

Viking Stock Performance

NYSE:VIK traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.25. 1,379,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,659,440. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.05 and a 200 day moving average of $80.54. 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 has a 1-year low of $55.55 and a 1-year high of $105.76.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Viking's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viking will post 3.3 EPS for the current 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.