Viking (NYSE:VIK) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $77.13 and last traded at $76.92, with a volume of 2978660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major investor-facing write-ups are calling VIK a top long-term value stock, pointing to favorable valuation metrics and analyst style scores that may attract value and growth-focused buyers — a likely catalyst for the intraday strength. Why Viking Holdings (VIK) is a top value stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a similar bullish take, using its Style Scores to highlight VIK for value/growth investors — such analyst-focused coverage can increase buy-side interest and trading volume. Why Viking Holdings (VIK) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Several high?profile news stories about archaeological finds and Viking-era discoveries (Ivar the Boneless, burial sites, execution pits, rune stones) are trending but are unrelated to Viking Holdings’ business fundamentals. Expect minimal direct impact on VIK’s stock. Lost grave of Viking warlord ‘discovered’ on English coast
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional culture/travel pieces highlighting Viking-era sites (Denmark travel, Lake District burial site, BBC rune-stone features, Gizmodo deep-dive) are interesting for general interest but not material to VIK’s earnings or operations. A Giant, 10 Skulls, and Rope-Bound Corpses: This Viking-Era ‘Execution Pit’ Has Stories to Tell
• Neutral Sentiment: Sports items using the “Viking” name (NFL signing day, player retirements) are unrelated to Viking Holdings’ financial performance. Longtime Viking Calls It Quits

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Viking from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Viking from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Viking from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

Viking Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.83 and a 200 day moving average of $64.11. The firm has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.68.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Viking had a return on equity of 716.92% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in Viking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Viking by 19,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Viking in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Viking by 316.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.