Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Short Interest Update

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,880,976 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the March 15th total of 4,957,245 shares. Approximately 16.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,042,455 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other news, CEO Robert A. Katz acquired 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $131.81 per share, with a total value of $4,942,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 285,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,606,974.72. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $131.85 per share, with a total value of $25,051.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,317.15. The trade was a 3.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOKF NA increased its stake in Vail Resorts by 833.3% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 815.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vail Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MTN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $172.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Vail Resorts from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vail Resorts from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Vail Resorts from $202.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.27.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Vail Resorts stock opened at $132.94 on Friday. Vail Resorts has a 1 year low of $123.82 and a 1 year high of $175.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $134.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.68. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 7.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.86%.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc is a leading mountain resort company that owns and operates an integrated network of ski areas, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets. The company’s signature Epic Pass program offers skiers and snowboarders season‐long access to its portfolio of resorts, while ancillary services such as ski and snowboard schools, equipment rental and retail drive additional revenue.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts was formed in 1997, building on the legacy of Vail Associates, which opened the Vail ski area in 1962.