Viking (NYSE:VIK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Viking (NYSE:VIK) had its price target raised by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $108.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Viking in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Viking from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.06.

Viking Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VIK stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.93. 692,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,505. Viking has a 52-week low of $55.55 and a 52-week high of $105.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viking will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of Viking stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,868,092.50. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,166.

Institutional Trading of Viking

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking in the 4th quarter valued at $1,114,000. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Viking during the fourth quarter worth $3,213,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Viking in the fourth quarter valued at $1,151,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Viking by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 956,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,278,000 after buying an additional 269,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Viking in the fourth quarter valued at $1,071,000. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.