Critical Analysis: Viking (NYSE:VIK) versus Target Hospitality (NASDAQ:TH)

Viking (NYSE:VIK) and Target Hospitality (NASDAQ:TH) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Viking and Target Hospitality”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viking	$6.50 billion	5.30	$1.15 billion	$2.57	30.07
Target Hospitality	$320.64 million	4.52	-$37.12 million	($0.38)	-38.05

Viking has higher revenue and earnings than Target Hospitality. Target Hospitality is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Viking, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Viking and Target Hospitality, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viking	1	4	10	0	2.60
Target Hospitality	1	0	2	1	2.75

Viking presently has a consensus price target of $75.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.77%. Target Hospitality has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.11%. Given Target Hospitality’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Target Hospitality is more favorable than Viking.

Profitability

This table compares Viking and Target Hospitality’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viking	17.65%	240.75%	10.23%
Target Hospitality	-11.58%	-8.65%	-6.41%

Volatility and Risk

Viking has a beta of 1.9, meaning that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Target Hospitality has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.8% of Viking shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of Target Hospitality shares are held by institutional investors. 68.0% of Target Hospitality shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Viking beats Target Hospitality on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About Target Hospitality

Target Hospitality Corp. operates as a specialty rental and hospitality services company in North America. The company operates through two segments, Hospitality & Facilities Services – South and Government. It owns a network of specialty rental accommodation units. In addition, the company provides catering and food, maintenance, housekeeping, grounds-keeping, security, health and recreation facilities, workforce community management, concierge, and laundry services. It serves the U.S. government contractors and investment grade natural resource development companies. Target Hospitality Corp. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.