UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Viking (NYSE:VIK) Stock

Viking (NYSE:VIK) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $79.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.42% from the company’s current price.

VIK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Viking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $78.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Viking from $63.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Viking from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.67.

Viking Stock Performance

Viking stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,410,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,545,859. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.96. Viking has a 12 month low of $31.79 and a 12 month high of $81.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.01.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.13. Viking had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 240.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viking in the 3rd quarter worth $989,000. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Viking during the 3rd quarter worth $65,041,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Viking by 42.6% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 8,256 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Viking in the third quarter worth $1,258,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Viking by 74.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,467,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,193,000 after acquiring an additional 626,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.