Vail Resorts Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 5,276 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 278% compared to the average daily volume of 1,396 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vail Resorts news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $155.00 per share, for a total transaction of $32,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 4,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $760,275. This represents a 4.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 67.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,013,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,874 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the second quarter valued at approximately $71,753,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vail Resorts during the second quarter worth approximately $51,685,000. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 805,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,910,000 after purchasing an additional 283,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,702,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,952,000 after purchasing an additional 227,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Vail Resorts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vail Resorts from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Vail Resorts from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vail Resorts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.60.

Vail Resorts Stock Down 0.2%

MTN stock opened at $137.07 on Friday. Vail Resorts has a 1-year low of $129.85 and a 1-year high of $199.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.90.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The company reported ($5.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.75) by ($0.33). Vail Resorts had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 31.54%. The business had revenue of $271.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($4.67) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $2.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 119.84%.

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.