Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vail Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.90.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

MTN stock traded down $2.38 on Monday, reaching $176.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 642,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,957. Vail Resorts has a 52 week low of $165.00 and a 52 week high of $236.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.17.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.28) by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $265.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.84 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 7.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($3.35) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vail Resorts

In other Vail Resorts news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $173.09 per share, with a total value of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,547.83. This represents a 8.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.98, for a total value of $1,635,910.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,284,216.78. This represents a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,185,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,717,000 after purchasing an additional 136,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 40,643 shares during the last quarter. TPG GP A LLC grew its position in Vail Resorts by 17.4% in the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 899,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,017,000 after acquiring an additional 133,607 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $113,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,422 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.