Viking (NYSE:VIK) Raised to “Buy” at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Viking (NYSE:VIK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $72.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.20% from the stock’s previous close.

VIK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Viking from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Viking from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Viking from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Viking from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Viking Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of VIK opened at $81.06 on Tuesday. Viking has a fifty-two week low of $36.99 and a fifty-two week high of $81.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.97. The firm has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter. Viking had a return on equity of 240.75% and a net margin of 17.65%.The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter. Analysts forecast that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 28,631 shares of Viking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total value of $2,296,778.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 466,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,886.02. This trade represents a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimize Financial Inc increased its stake in Viking by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viking by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded VIK from “neutral” to “buy” and raised its price target to $95 from $72, signaling meaningful long‑term upside potential and prompting buying interest. Rothschild Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation in VIK, reinforcing the upgrade-driven optimism among institutional investors. Citigroup Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Torstein Hagen appeared one-on-one with Jim Cramer (CNBC), increasing retail/institutional visibility; such interviews can amplify confidence if management reiterates growth/return plans. CEO Interview
• Neutral Sentiment: NYSE ran a pre‑market floor advisory noting Viking’s two‑year anniversary since going public — a PR/visibility event that can attract attention but is not a direct earnings catalyst. NYSE Anniversary
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading volume is slightly above average (2.96M vs. ~2.74M), indicating elevated but not extreme activity — consistent with analyst-driven interest and some profit‑taking. (Market data summary)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle/history pieces and videos referencing “Viking” cultural themes circulated (NYT Athletic on a hockey prospect, travel/history features). These drive broader brand recognition but have little direct impact on fundamentals. NYT Athletic MSN Travel
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet and liquidity metrics remain a concern: quick ratio ~0.77, current ratio ~0.79 and high debt/equity (~4.76). Those figures can increase investor sensitivity to macro or revenue shocks. (Market data summary)

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.