Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Buys 16,394 Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) by 163.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,439 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,394 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Viking were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking during the 4th quarter worth $1,114,000. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Viking in the 4th quarter worth $3,213,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Viking during the 4th quarter worth $1,151,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in Viking by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 956,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,278,000 after acquiring an additional 269,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Viking during the 4th quarter worth $1,071,000. Institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Viking from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Viking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price target on Viking in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total transaction of $3,720,184.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 420,022 shares in the company, valued at $33,698,365.06. The trade was a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were 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 directly owned 117,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,868,092.50. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 63,935 shares of company stock worth $5,360,351 over the last 90 days.

Viking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets upgraded Viking to “strong-buy”, which could support investor sentiment by signaling confidence in the cruise operator’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Viking was mentioned in shipping-stock roundups, but those articles appear to be broad sector lists rather than company-specific catalysts. Top Shipping Stocks To Follow Today – July 7th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent stories reference “Viking” in a historical or sports context, including longboats, Viking spirit, and Norway’s World Cup run, but these do not appear related to Viking Holdings’ business performance. I sail the world in a replica 10th-century Viking longboat
• Neutral Sentiment: Passionate trading activity and media coverage around “Viking” themes may keep the ticker in view, but they are unlikely to change fundamentals on their own. Ship enthusiast cites ‘Viking spirit’ as Norway ready for England clash
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity skewed bearish, with traders buying far more put options than usual, suggesting some investors are positioning for downside or hedging against weakness. Tickerreport.com

Viking Stock Performance

NYSE VIK traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,379,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,659,440. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.54. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27. The stock has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.