Viking (NYSE:VIK) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $78.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $66.00. Viking traded as high as $68.91 and last traded at $68.4790, with a volume of 607057 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.68.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VIK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Viking from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Viking in a report on Monday, December 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Viking from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Viking in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.69.

Institutional Trading of Viking

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new position in Viking in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Viking during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viking by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viking by 342.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

Viking Trading Up 2.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.68. The company has a market capitalization of $30.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.03.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 716.92% and a net margin of 15.53%.Viking’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 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.