Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN)

Morgan Stanley reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $197.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MTN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie boosted their price target on Vail Resorts from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Vail Resorts from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vail Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

MTN stock opened at $191.55 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.73. Vail Resorts has a 52-week low of $165.00 and a 52-week high of $236.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $260.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($4.60) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vail Resorts will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.51%.

Insider Activity at Vail Resorts

In other news, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 245,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,284,216.78. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,807,360.77. This trade represents a 3.57 % decrease in their position. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Vail Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Vail Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 318.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing 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.