Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $208.22.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MTN shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTN opened at $168.21 on Friday. Vail Resorts has a twelve month low of $165.14 and a twelve month high of $236.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.28) by ($0.39). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 7.99%. The firm had revenue of $265.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($3.35) EPS. Vail Resorts’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vail Resorts will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $173.09 per share, for a total transaction of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,187 shares in the company, valued at $378,547.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total transaction of $289,026.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,807,360.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $173.09 per share, for a total transaction of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,547.83. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTN. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 2.1% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Vail Resorts in the first quarter valued at about $118,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 15.7% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 9,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Vail Resorts in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities.