StockNews.com Downgrades Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MTN. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Vail Resorts from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $256.00 to $231.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

Vail Resorts stock opened at $174.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Vail Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $165.14 and a fifty-two week high of $236.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.14.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.28) by ($0.39). Vail Resorts had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company 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 firm posted ($3.35) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vail Resorts will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be issued a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 27.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 4.6% during the second quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 8.5% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is 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.