Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 246.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vail Resorts during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vail Resorts by 409.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vail Resorts by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Shares of MTN opened at $167.95 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.00 and a 1-year high of $236.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.11.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $260.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($4.60) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $2.22 dividend. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MTN shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $222.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Vail Resorts from $176.00 to $166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on Vail Resorts from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.50.

Vail Resorts 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.