Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $151.4545.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MTN. Zacks Research lowered Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vail Resorts from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Vail Resorts from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Vail Resorts from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 11.1%

Shares of NYSE:MTN opened at $144.40 on Friday. Vail Resorts has a 52-week low of $118.51 and a 52-week high of $172.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The company reported $8.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.97 by ($0.16). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 5.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 201.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 17,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc is a leading mountain resort company that owns and operates an integrated network of ski areas, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets. The company’s signature Epic Pass program offers skiers and snowboarders season‐long access to its portfolio of resorts, while ancillary services such as ski and snowboard schools, equipment rental and retail drive additional revenue.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts was formed in 1997, building on the legacy of Vail Associates, which opened the Vail ski area in 1962.