Critical Analysis: Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK) and Viking (NYSE:VIK)

Viking (NYSE:VIK) and Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Viking and Teekay Tankers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viking	0	3	9	0	2.75
Teekay Tankers	0	0	3	1	3.25

Viking currently has a consensus target price of $37.17, suggesting a potential downside of 5.40%. Teekay Tankers has a consensus target price of $76.67, suggesting a potential upside of 37.84%. Given Teekay Tankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Teekay Tankers is more favorable than Viking.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.7% of Teekay Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Teekay Tankers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Viking and Teekay Tankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viking	N/A	N/A	N/A
Teekay Tankers	36.04%	26.34%	22.55%

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viking	$4.71 billion	3.60	-$1.86 billion	N/A	N/A
Teekay Tankers	$1.23 billion	1.54	$513.67 million	$14.14	3.93

Teekay Tankers has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Viking.

Summary

Teekay Tankers beats Viking on 9 of the 12 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 Teekay Tankers

Teekay Tankers Ltd. provides crude oil and other marine transportation services to oil industries in Bermuda and internationally. The company offers voyage and time charter services; offshore ship-to-ship transfer services of commodities primarily crude oil and refined oil products; and tanker commercial and technical management services. It also engages management of vessels, procurement, and equipment rental businesses. Teekay Tankers Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.