Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MTN. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $275.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $232.00 to $222.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $262.00 to $231.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 10th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $380.00 to $333.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $289.00 to $269.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $263.13.

Vail Resorts Stock Down 0.3 %

MTN stock opened at $219.84 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.55 and a 200-day moving average of $236.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.19. Vail Resorts has a one year low of $201.91 and a one year high of $273.43.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 11.88% and a return on equity of 18.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Vail Resorts will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 27th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This is an increase from Vail Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTN. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 21.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 7.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 4.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vail Resorts in the first quarter worth approximately $672,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vail Resorts in the first quarter worth approximately $691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.12% of the company’s stock.

Vail Resorts Company Profile

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Vail Resorts, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the operation of mountain resorts. It operates through the following segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment covers the operation of mountain resorts or ski areas, and related activities. The Lodging segment includes ownership of hotels, RockResorts, NPS concessionaire properties, condominium management, Colorado resort ground transportation operations, and mountain resort golf operations.