Viking (NYSE:VIK) Price Target Raised to $83.00

Viking (NYSE:VIK) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $79.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Viking from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Viking from $63.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Viking from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Viking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.67.

Viking Price Performance

Viking stock opened at $68.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.11. Viking has a 1 year low of $31.79 and a 1 year high of $81.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Viking had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 240.75%. The company’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Viking by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking by 6.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Viking by 1,063.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 292,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,597,000 after acquiring an additional 267,521 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking by 762.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 111,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after acquiring an additional 98,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking by 1,659.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,319,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

Viking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking took delivery of a new river ship, the Viking Eldir, expanding capacity on Rhine/Main/Danube itineraries. Fleet growth supports revenue and itinerary availability for the key river-cruise segment. Viking Takes Delivery of Newest River Ship in Europe
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on VIK to $83.00 — analyst upgrades/target lifts can directly improve investor sentiment and buying interest. Viking (NYSE:VIK) Price Target Raised to $83.00 at UBS Group
• Neutral Sentiment: A press piece highlights a VGS portfolio move that “supercharges” Viking SupplyNet with premium piping connections. It’s unclear how directly this affects Viking Holdings’ core cruise/tour operations or near-term earnings, so any impact is uncertain. VGS Portfolio Supercharges Viking SupplyNet’s Unique, Vertically Integrated Model with Premium Piping Connections
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media items reference the word “Viking” (sports, history, lifestyle, or other companies like Viking Therapeutics). These are brand/name noise and not related to Viking Holdings’ fundamentals. Investors should ignore those when evaluating VIK. Example: NFL coverage about the Minnesota Vikings (not the company). Kyler Murray signs with Vikings: Minnesota earns A+ for landing former No. 1 pick after Cardinals release
• Negative Sentiment: Financial/valuation headwinds remain: VIK carries high leverage (debt-to-equity ~4.76) and short-term liquidity ratios below 1.0, which can amplify downside during demand slowdowns or cost pressures. These factors temper upside despite positive operational/analyst news.

Viking Company Profile

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.