Sculptor Capital LP Sells 65,000 Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Sculptor Capital LP cut its holdings in Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,435,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,000 shares during the quarter. Viking makes up about 1.1% of Sculptor Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sculptor Capital LP’s holdings in Viking were worth $105,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in Viking by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking by 63.5% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 7,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Viking by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 11,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 2,864 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 13,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Viking by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 436,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,085,000 after buying an additional 109,471 shares in the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Viking from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $95.00 price target on Viking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Viking in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.39.

Viking Stock Performance

Shares of VIK stock opened at $100.87 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.43. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.55 and a 52 week high of $105.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Viking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking revealed the names of its next two ocean ships, reinforcing the company’s growth pipeline and ongoing fleet expansion strategy, which can support longer-term revenue visibility. Viking Reveals Names of Its Next Two Ocean Ships
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles covered a dispute involving a different “Viking ship” tied to the film The Odyssey; this appears unrelated to Viking Holdings’ cruise business and is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on VIK shares. ‘The Odyssey’ Hired Their Viking Ship. They Say It Came Back Damaged.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other history-focused “Viking” stories about ancient burials, treasure, and swords are not related to Viking Holdings’ operations and should not affect the stock. New evidence shows ‘Viking burials’ predate Vikings
• Neutral Sentiment: A cruise-industry note about guests receiving an overbooking offer suggests continued demand management in the sector, but it does not appear to be a major catalyst on its own. Viking Cruise Guests Stunned by Generous Overbooking Offer

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,092.50. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,166.

Viking 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.