Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) by 381.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,474,767 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,715,666 shares during the quarter. Viking comprises 0.9% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.91% of Viking worth $526,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Viking by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Viking by 4,400.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Viking in the second quarter worth about $3,363,000. Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viking by 28.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 158,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,466,000 after buying an additional 35,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in Viking during the second quarter worth about $215,000. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Viking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $78.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Viking from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Viking from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viking in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Viking Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VIK opened at $69.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.07. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $31.79 and a 12-month high of $74.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.68.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Viking had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 716.92%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Viking’s revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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.