Viking (NYSE:VIK) Upgraded to Buy at Truist Financial

Viking (NYSE:VIK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $102.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $75.00. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.89% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Viking from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Viking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Viking in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.64.

Viking Price Performance

Shares of Viking stock opened at $83.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.57. Viking has a 1-year low of $42.20 and a 1-year high of $92.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.79.

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 firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total value of $3,720,184.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 420,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIK. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viking by 92.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking in the second quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Viking in the second quarter valued at approximately $922,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Viking by 34,748.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,812,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its stake in Viking by 275.0% in the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 30,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 22,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

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.