Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Receives $165.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $165.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on MTN shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Vail Resorts from $202.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Vail Resorts from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Vail Resorts Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MTN opened at $129.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.64. Vail Resorts has a 1 year low of $123.82 and a 1 year high of $175.51.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by ($0.19). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 7.89%.The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be given a dividend of $2.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 144.86%.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other news, CFO Angela A. Korch bought 190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $131.85 per share, for a total transaction of $25,051.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,317.15. This trade represents a 3.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Katz bought 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $131.81 per share, for a total transaction of $4,942,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 285,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,606,974.72. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Vail Resorts by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 121,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,382,000 after acquiring an additional 3,440 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Vail Resorts by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 148,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Vail Resorts by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,685,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Vail Resorts by 815.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.