Centaurus Financial Inc. Invests $1.06 Million in Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIK. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Viking by 19,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Viking during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viking by 316.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Viking by 651.8% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VIK. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Viking in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Viking from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.06.

Key Headlines Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $120 from $108 and upgraded Viking to “Buy,” implying approximately 15% upside from the referenced price. The endorsement may support investor confidence and reflects a more favorable outlook for Viking’s earnings and growth. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Viking took delivery of the new European river ship Viking Dagur, adding capacity to its fleet and supporting future itinerary growth. Viking Takes Delivery of Viking Dagur in Europe
• Positive Sentiment: Viking announced its first Chinese-language journeys for Northern Europe, expanding its addressable customer base and potentially improving demand from Chinese-speaking travelers. Viking First Chinese-Language Journeys for Northern Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: A report about oral VK2735 entering Phase III development concerns Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX), not Viking Holdings (NYSE: VIK), and therefore should not affect VIK’s valuation. Viking Therapeutics VK2735 Development
• Negative Sentiment: A Viking river ship ran aground on the Danube in Bulgaria amid unusually low water levels, and travelers were reportedly evacuated. Although the incident appears weather- or water-level-related, disruptions, customer compensation, and negative publicity could weigh modestly on near-term results and brand perception. Viking Ship Runs Aground in Europe

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total transaction of $1,047,997.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,868,092.50. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 17,566 shares of company stock worth $1,640,166 in the last quarter.

Viking Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of VIK stock opened at $104.17 on Friday. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.