Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) to Buy

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $105.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $52.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 61.55% from the company’s current price.

VAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $115.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho cut Marriott Vacations Worldwide from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $46.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.56.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of VAC opened at $65.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 3.48. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a 1 year low of $44.58 and a 1 year high of $86.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.83.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.14. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a positive return on equity of 11.77% and a negative net margin of 6.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.86 earnings per share. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.050-7.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,971,000. Senvest Management LLC grew its holdings in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 19.4% during the second quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,816,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,316,000 after purchasing an additional 294,937 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 71.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 635,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,987,000 after purchasing an additional 265,278 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the third quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,392,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,730,000 after buying an additional 234,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.52% of the company’s stock.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Company Profile

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, specializes in the development, marketing and management of vacation ownership resorts and related products. Originally launched as a division of Marriott International in 1984, the company became a separate publicly traded entity in 2011. Since then, it has expanded its offerings through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, establishing itself as a leading provider in the global timeshare industry.

The company’s core business activities include selling vacation ownership interests, managing a growing portfolio of branded resorts and operating a loyalty program that allows members to exchange or use points at affiliated properties.