Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Short Interest Down 14.5% in March

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 28th total of 2,410,000 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 610,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MTN traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $159.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 60,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,111. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.82. Vail Resorts has a 52 week low of $151.99 and a 52 week high of $233.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The company reported $6.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.27. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.76 earnings per share. Vail Resorts’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 130.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MTN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vail Resorts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vail Resorts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $160.00 per share, for a total transaction of $29,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vail Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 246.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vail Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 162.2% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.