Viking (NYSE:VIK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) reached 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VIK. Barclays increased their target price on Viking from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Viking from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Viking from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Viking Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.68, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 2.07.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Viking had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 716.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking by 4,201.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in Viking by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Viking by 115.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Viking by 1,918.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.