Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Vail Resorts from $256.00 to $231.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Vail Resorts Trading Down 3.9 %

MTN stock opened at $180.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.51. Vail Resorts has a 1-year low of $165.14 and a 1-year high of $242.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.28) by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $265.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.84 million. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($3.35) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 673.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 635,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,481,000 after buying an additional 553,337 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,466,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vail Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $37,684,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 1,063.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 177,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 161,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TPG GP A LLC increased its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 899,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,017,000 after purchasing an additional 133,607 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently 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.