Viking (NYSE:VIK) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $101.34 and last traded at $101.17, with a volume of 3750425 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.05.

Viking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: One potentially relevant item noted Viking Holdings as a shiping stock to research, which may reflect continued investor interest in the travel/cruise sector. Promising Shipping Stocks To Research – June 22nd
• Neutral Sentiment: Viking Therapeutics announced a Phase I trial of VK3019, but this is a different company and should not materially affect Viking Holdings. Viking Therapeutics commences Phase I trial of VK3019
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other “Viking” headlines focused on archaeology, World Cup fan chants, and Viking-themed entertainment, which are not tied to Viking Holdings’ operations or financial performance. Norway’s ‘Viking row’ World Cup celebration irks Scandinavian neighbours

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VIK shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price objective on Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Truist Financial raised Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.38.

Viking Trading Down 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.59. 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 (NYSE:VIK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the business’s 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 owned 420,022 shares in the company, valued at $33,698,365.06. The trade was a 9.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Marnell sold 6,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total value of $577,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,460,699. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 92,566 shares of company stock valued at $7,657,130 over the last ninety days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIK. Optimize Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Viking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Viking by 7.5% during 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 period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Viking by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Viking by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Viking by 53.1% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

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.