Viking (NYSE:VIK) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $77.13 and last traded at $76.92, with a volume of 2978660 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.25.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Viking from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Viking from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Viking from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Viking from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Viking Stock Up 6.5%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.07.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 716.92% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Viking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIK. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Viking by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,048,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,471,244 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Viking by 381.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,474,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,715,666 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Viking by 80.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,117,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615,969 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Viking by 57.9% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,706,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Viking during the second quarter worth $236,911,000. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Viking

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.