Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $165.03 and last traded at $165.15, with a volume of 139977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MTN. Barclays decreased their target price on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.22.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $176.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.04.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share (EPS) 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 20.76%. The company had revenue of $265.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($3.35) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $2.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 147.26%.

Insider Activity at Vail Resorts

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $173.09 per share, with a total value of $28,559.85. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,187 shares in the company, valued at $378,547.83. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Angela A. Korch bought 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $173.09 per share, for a total transaction of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,187 shares in the company, valued at $378,547.83. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.98, for a total value of $1,635,910.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 245,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,284,216.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 673.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 635,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,481,000 after acquiring an additional 553,337 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP bought a new stake in Vail Resorts in the second quarter valued at about $62,466,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 606.6% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 341,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,487,000 after acquiring an additional 293,006 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 1,063.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 177,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after buying an additional 161,820 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 245,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,756,000 after buying an additional 159,600 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vail Resorts Company Profile

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.