Vail Resorts Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 3,575 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 85% compared to the average daily volume of 1,935 put options.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 210 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $155.00 per share, with a total value of $32,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $760,275. This trade represents a 4.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 111 Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 6,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 3,319 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Vail Resorts in the first quarter valued at approximately $376,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vail Resorts in the second quarter worth approximately $3,735,000. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 60.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 173,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,288,000 after purchasing an additional 65,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,572,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MTN shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $244.00 to $237.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Vail Resorts from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vail Resorts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.30.

Vail Resorts Stock Down 1.4%

Vail Resorts stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $140.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 141,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.52, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.85 and its 200 day moving average is $152.34. Vail Resorts has a 52-week low of $129.85 and a 52-week high of $191.57.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The company reported ($5.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($5.23) by $0.03. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The firm had revenue of $271.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.61) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 30th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.21%.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc is a leading mountain resort company that owns and operates an integrated network of ski areas, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets. The company’s signature Epic Pass program offers skiers and snowboarders season?long access to its portfolio of resorts, while ancillary services such as ski and snowboard schools, equipment rental and retail drive additional revenue.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts was formed in 1997, building on the legacy of Vail Associates, which opened the Vail ski area in 1962.