Short Interest in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Decreases By 14.5%

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the February 28th total of 2,410,000 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 610,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $160.00 per share, for a total transaction of $29,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,960. This represents a 6.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vail Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 246.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vail Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 162.2% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 291 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 302 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $197.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Vail Resorts from $227.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their target price on Vail Resorts from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.56.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

MTN stock traded down $7.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $137.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,369. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. Vail Resorts has a 1 year low of $134.68 and a 1 year high of $233.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $161.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.23.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The company reported $6.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.27. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $2.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Vail Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.21%.

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.