Vail Resorts Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 2,724 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 63% compared to the average volume of 1,667 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $155.00 per share, for a total transaction of $32,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,905 shares in the company, valued at $760,275. The trade was a 4.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vail Resorts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 67.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,013,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,874 shares during the period. GRS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,753,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,685,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,702,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,952,000 after buying an additional 227,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP raised its stake in Vail Resorts by 23.4% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 993,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,146,000 after acquiring an additional 188,151 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MTN. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Vail Resorts from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.50.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

MTN opened at $161.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.79 and a 200-day moving average of $152.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.54. Vail Resorts has a 1-year low of $129.85 and a 1-year high of $194.47.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The company reported ($5.20) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($5.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $271.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.35 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 8.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($4.61) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vail Resorts will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be issued a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 30th. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 119.84%.

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.