Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $205.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MTN. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Vail Resorts from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group started coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Vail Resorts from $222.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

NYSE MTN traded up $2.62 on Thursday, reaching $179.72. 722,026 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 761,625. Vail Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $236.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.05.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.99) by $0.38. The business had revenue of $260.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $251.45 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.60) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Vail Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,185,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $903,717,000 after buying an additional 136,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vail Resorts by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,263,000 after purchasing an additional 40,643 shares during the period. TPG GP A LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 899,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,017,000 after purchasing an additional 133,607 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 686,984 shares of the company's stock worth $119,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,438 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 649,624 shares of the company's stock worth $113,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,422 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.