Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Stock

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Free Report) had its target price upped by Barclays from $155.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MTN. UBS Group assumed coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Vail Resorts from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $222.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.00.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

MTN traded up $4.77 on Tuesday, hitting $195.44. 1,117,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 532,169. Vail Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $236.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm had revenue of $260.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($4.60) earnings per share. Vail Resorts's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Vail Resorts's dividend payout ratio is currently 147.26%.

Insider Activity at Vail Resorts

In related news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of Vail Resorts 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,807,360.77. The trade was a 3.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch bought 165 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $173.09 per share, for a total transaction of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,187 shares in the company, valued at $378,547.83. This represents a 8.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 673.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 635,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,481,000 after acquiring an additional 553,337 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,466,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vail Resorts by 606.6% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 341,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,487,000 after purchasing an additional 293,006 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,264,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 1,080.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 207,809 shares of the company's stock worth $36,219,000 after buying an additional 190,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

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.