Viking (NYSE:VIK) Shares Down 5.9% – Should You Sell?

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK)’s share price was down 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $100.04 and last traded at $99.90. Approximately 2,519,302 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,737,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Viking from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Viking from $87.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Viking from $101.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Viking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.22.

Viking Trading Down 6.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of Viking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,868,092.50. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 17,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,166 in the last three months.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIK. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Viking by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 41,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Viking in the second quarter worth $151,000. Finivi Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viking during the second quarter worth $242,000. LifeGoal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking during the second quarter worth $316,000. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking in the second quarter valued at $3,061,000. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.