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

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

MTN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vail Resorts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.00.

Vail Resorts Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MTN opened at $195.44 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. Vail Resorts has a 12 month low of $165.00 and a 12 month high of $236.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. The company had revenue of $260.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.45 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 7.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.60) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vail Resorts will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $2.22 dividend. 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 is currently 147.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total transaction of $289,026.90. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.98, for a total value of $1,635,910.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 245,961 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTN. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 150.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Vail Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Vail Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 318.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 123.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vail Resorts Company Profile

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.