Viking (NYSE:VIK) and Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Critical Comparison

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Papa John’s International and Viking”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Papa John’s International	$2.05 billion	0.36	$30.53 million	$0.79	28.71
Viking	$6.50 billion	5.87	$1.15 billion	$3.01	28.47

Viking has higher revenue and earnings than Papa John’s International. Viking is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Papa John’s International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Papa John’s International and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Papa John’s International	1.34%	-10.98%	5.68%
Viking	19.33%	117.98%	10.80%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Papa John’s International and Viking, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Papa John’s International	3	6	0	0	1.67
Viking	1	2	16	0	2.79

Papa John’s International presently has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.09%. Viking has a consensus target price of $107.33, indicating a potential upside of 25.26%. Given Papa John’s International’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Papa John’s International is more favorable than Viking.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.8% of Viking shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Papa John’s International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Papa John’s International has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Viking beats Papa John’s International on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc. engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages. The North America Franchising segment involves the offering of sales and support activities, development rights, and collection of royalties from franchisees located in the United States and Canada. The North America Commissaries segment includes the eleven full-service regional dough production and distribution and quality control centers. The International Operations segment represents all restaurant operations outside of the United States and Canada. The All Others segment focuses on franchise contributions to marketing funds and sale, company-owned and franchised restaurants, information systems and related services used in restaurant operations, point-of-sale system, online and other technology-based ordering platforms, printing, and promotional items. The company was founded by John H. Schnatter in 1984 and is headquartered in Louisville, KY.

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. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.