Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $205.90.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTN. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Vail Resorts Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MTN opened at $175.00 on Wednesday. Vail Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $236.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) EPS 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 analyst estimates of $264.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.35) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vail Resorts

In related news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total value of $289,026.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,807,360.77. This trade represents a 3.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.98, for a total transaction of $1,635,910.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 245,961 shares in the company, valued at $43,284,216.78. This represents a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vail Resorts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Vail Resorts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,185,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,717,000 after purchasing an additional 136,328 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,263,000 after buying an additional 40,643 shares in the last quarter. TPG GP A LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 17.4% in the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 899,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,017,000 after buying an additional 133,607 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 8.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 686,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,734,000 after acquiring an additional 51,438 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 649,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,422 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.