John F. Sorte Sells 1,670 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Stock

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total transaction of $289,026.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,807,360.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Vail Resorts Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MTN traded up $2.92 on Wednesday, reaching $175.99. 645,592 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,025. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.14 and a 12 month high of $236.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.75.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.28) by ($0.39). Vail Resorts had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $265.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($3.35) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 120.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 21,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 15,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 94,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,166,000 after buying an additional 47,733 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vail Resorts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $465,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $256.00 to $231.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.22.

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.