Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Short Interest Down 18.3% in September

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a drop of 18.3% from the September 15th total of 2,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 463,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Vail Resorts Trading Down 1.3 %

MTN stock traded down $2.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.01. 585,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 531,436. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.35. Vail Resorts has a 1 year low of $165.14 and a 1 year high of $236.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.28) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $265.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.84 million. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.35) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 120.82%.

Insider Activity at Vail Resorts

In related news, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 245,961 shares in the company, valued at $43,284,216.78. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 $43,284,216.78. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 165 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vail Resorts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 27.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Vail Resorts by 2.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 4.6% during the second quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 8.5% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.