Brokerages Set Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) PT at $260.11

Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $260.11.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America cut Vail Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $285.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho started coverage on Vail Resorts in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $242.00 to $229.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $252.00 to $243.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter A. Vaughn sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.77, for a total value of $222,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,269.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vail Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 5.6% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 4.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Vail Resorts stock opened at $195.81 on Friday. Vail Resorts has a 12 month low of $188.43 and a 12 month high of $258.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $216.78 and its 200-day moving average is $219.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.14.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.07 by ($0.31). Vail Resorts had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Vail Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Vail Resorts will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Vail Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.25%.

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.