Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

VAC has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $92.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $68.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marriott Vacations Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.80.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of VAC opened at $115.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a 12 month low of $44.58 and a 12 month high of $131.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.84, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.23.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.34. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a positive return on equity of 12.27% and a negative net margin of 6.47%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.250-9.050 EPS. Analysts predict that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently -32.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,392,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,730,000 after purchasing an additional 234,105 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,633,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 157.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 351,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,281,000 after purchasing an additional 215,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.52% of the company’s stock.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Company Profile

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, specializes in the development, marketing and management of vacation ownership resorts and related products. Originally launched as a division of Marriott International in 1984, the company became a separate publicly traded entity in 2011. Since then, it has expanded its offerings through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, establishing itself as a leading provider in the global timeshare industry.

The company’s core business activities include selling vacation ownership interests, managing a growing portfolio of branded resorts and operating a loyalty program that allows members to exchange or use points at affiliated properties.