Viking (NYSE:VIK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Viking (NYSE:VIK) was downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, prompting concerns about its stock performance.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts at Citigroup and UBS Group raised their price targets on Viking, indicating confidence in its potential for growth.
• Viking reported earnings of $0.99 per share, slightly missing estimates, but showed a year-over-year revenue growth of 18.5%, signaling strong demand for its services.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viking (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

VIK has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Viking from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Viking in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Viking in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Viking from $55.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Viking from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Viking Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of VIK traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.39. 86,338 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,169,359. Viking has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $63.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.33, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.37.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.01). Viking had a net margin of 13.99% and a negative return on equity of 374.71%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Viking's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Viking during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.