Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 103,970 Shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) by 2,599.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,969 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 103,970 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Viking were worth $7,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Viking by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,619,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,945,000 after purchasing an additional 570,672 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,611,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,960,000 after buying an additional 136,918 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Viking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,297,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking by 316.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,082,000 after buying an additional 3,364,265 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Viking by 28.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,690,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,253,000 after buying an additional 600,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

Viking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $120 from $108 and upgraded Viking to “Buy,” implying approximately 15% upside from the referenced price. The endorsement may support investor confidence and reflects a more favorable outlook for Viking’s earnings and growth. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Viking took delivery of the new European river ship Viking Dagur, adding capacity to its fleet and supporting future itinerary growth. Viking Takes Delivery of Viking Dagur in Europe
• Positive Sentiment: Viking announced its first Chinese-language journeys for Northern Europe, expanding its addressable customer base and potentially improving demand from Chinese-speaking travelers. Viking First Chinese-Language Journeys for Northern Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: A report about oral VK2735 entering Phase III development concerns Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX), not Viking Holdings (NYSE: VIK), and therefore should not affect VIK’s valuation. Viking Therapeutics VK2735 Development
• Negative Sentiment: A Viking river ship ran aground on the Danube in Bulgaria amid unusually low water levels, and travelers were reportedly evacuated. Although the incident appears weather- or water-level-related, disruptions, customer compensation, and negative publicity could weigh modestly on near-term results and brand perception. Viking Ship Runs Aground in Europe

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Viking from $101.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 target price on Viking in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Viking from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Viking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Viking in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.06.

Viking Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VIK opened at $104.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48. 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 Holdings Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.55 and a 12 month high of $105.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.44.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Viking had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 149.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,868,092.50. This represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,640,166.

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.