Viking (NYSE:VIK) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company 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.

Key Stories Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking announced a new senior vice president of sales, a leadership move that could support growth and strengthen commercial execution. Viking announces new senior vice president of sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Several viral “Viking row” stories tied to Norway’s World Cup celebrations are circulating, but these articles are about sports/fan culture rather than Viking Holdings’ cruise business, so they are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Norway fans take over Times Square with Viking row
• Neutral Sentiment: A market article highlighting shipping stocks may offer a broad sector read-through, but it does not specifically change Viking Holdings’ outlook on its own. Best Shipping Stocks To Consider – June 21st

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VIK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $79.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on Viking from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Viking from $76.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.38.

Viking Trading Up 1.1%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.59.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. Viking’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking

In other news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 6,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was 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 owned 110,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,460,699. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 420,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This trade represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,566 shares of company stock worth $7,657,130.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Viking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking by 3.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking by 53.1% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 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.