Viking (NYSE:VIK) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Viking shares hit a new 52-week high after Citigroup raised its price target to $90 and kept a buy rating; the stock traded as high as $81.67 (last $81.29) on roughly 1.11 million shares.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy (11 Buys, 4 Holds, 1 Sell) with a $76.60 average price target, though opinions diverge—Barclays cut its PT to $76 while Jefferies upgraded to buy and raised its PT to $80.
• EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 28,631 shares at about $80.22 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, while major institutions (Federated Hermes, Norges Bank, MFS, Invesco, AQR) have materially increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at 98.84%.

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $90.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Viking traded as high as $81.67 and last traded at $81.2940, with a volume of 1107845 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.21.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VIK. Mizuho increased their price objective on Viking from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Viking from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Viking from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Viking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 28,631 shares of Viking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total value of $2,296,778.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 466,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,886.02. The trade was a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Key Stories Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on VIK to $90 and kept a "buy" rating, signaling analyst conviction that there’s upside from current levels; this upgrade is a likely driver of today's buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Viking is expanding itinerary offerings with new river voyages on India’s Brahmaputra River — geographic diversification and new product inventory could support revenue growth and bookings over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Marinelog reports Viking has introduced the Helix evacuation system that simplifies ship evacuation at speed — an operational/safety improvement that can reduce regulatory and insurance friction and strengthen the company’s product credibility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces comparing Viking to peers (e.g., Target Hospitality) provide valuation context but are unlikely to move the stock materially by themselves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Viking "opens a U.S. trading window" amid a tungsten push could increase liquidity or signal corporate/strategic activity, but the implications are uncertain until details on the "tungsten" matter are clear. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: General cultural/history pieces about Vikings (emperor Knut, big Viking ship video) are not material to Viking Holdings’ stock performance. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target on VIK to $76, a move that introduces analyst divergence and could pressure the stock if other firms follow suit or if sellers emphasize the lower PT. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VIK. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking by 381.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,474,767 shares of the company's stock worth $526,792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,715,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Viking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $372,297,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Viking by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,117,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,615,969 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Viking by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,048,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,471,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Viking by 316.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,082,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,265 shares in the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.90.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter. Viking had a return on equity of 240.75% and a net margin of 17.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 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.

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