Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Price Target Raised to $227.00

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) had its price objective raised by Mizuho from $222.00 to $227.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MTN. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Vail Resorts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Vail Resorts from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.00.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of MTN stock opened at $195.44 on Tuesday. Vail Resorts has a 12-month low of $165.00 and a 12-month high of $236.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $260.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.45 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 7.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($4.60) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vail Resorts

In other news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,807,360.77. This represents a 3.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 150.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Vail Resorts during the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Vail Resorts during the third quarter worth $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Vail Resorts by 318.8% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Vail Resorts by 123.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.