Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,722 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Viad worth $3,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VVI. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Viad in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Viad by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Viad during the first quarter worth about $228,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viad in the second quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Viad by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VVI shares. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Viad in a research report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Viad from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Viad from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Viad Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VVI opened at $43.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Viad Corp has a 12-month low of $29.46 and a 12-month high of $47.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.52. The company has a market cap of $915.63 million, a PE ratio of 86.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 2.04.

Viad (NYSE:VVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.14. Viad had a return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $455.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.10 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viad Corp will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Viad Profile

Viad Corp provides hospitality, leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates in three segments: Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions. The Pursuit segment offers recreational attractions, hotels and lodges, food and beverage, retail, sightseeing, and ground transportation services.