Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Viking (NYSE:VIK) to Strong-Buy

Viking (NYSE:VIKGet Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Viking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Viking from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Viking in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.38.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Viking

Viking Stock Up 1.6%

Viking stock opened at $90.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.92. Viking has a fifty-two week low of $46.06 and a fifty-two week high of $93.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.59. 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:VIKGet Free Report) last released 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). Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. Viking’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viking will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $33,698,365.06. The trade was a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIK. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Viking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking by 53.1% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viking

(Get Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Analyst Recommendations for Viking (NYSE:VIK)

Receive News & Ratings for Viking Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Viking and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.