Reviewing Viking (NYSE:VIK) & Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN)

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Six Flags Entertainment and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Six Flags Entertainment	-57.25%	7.43%	0.38%
Viking	19.33%	117.98%	10.80%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Six Flags Entertainment and Viking”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Six Flags Entertainment	$3.06 billion	0.50	-$1.60 billion	($17.32)	-0.86
Viking	$6.97 billion	5.42	$1.15 billion	$3.01	28.16

Viking has higher revenue and earnings than Six Flags Entertainment. Six Flags Entertainment 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 ratings and price targets for Six Flags Entertainment and Viking, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Six Flags Entertainment	3	6	7	0	2.25
Viking	1	2	16	0	2.79

Six Flags Entertainment currently has a consensus price target of $21.93, suggesting a potential upside of 47.40%. Viking has a consensus price target of $107.33, suggesting a potential upside of 26.65%. Given Six Flags Entertainment’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Six Flags Entertainment is more favorable than Viking.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.7% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Viking shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Six Flags Entertainment has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Viking beats Six Flags Entertainment on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Six Flags Entertainment

Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan's Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. The company also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort, Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point's Express Hotel, and Sawmill Creek Resort. Cedar Fair, L.P. was founded in 1983 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.

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.