Aurora Investment Counsel Raises Stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,205 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Vail Resorts makes up approximately 1.5% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Vail Resorts by 246.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vail Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 165.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MTN. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $227.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $197.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vail Resorts from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.56.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other Vail Resorts news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 185 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $160.00 per share, for a total transaction of $29,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,960. This trade represents a 6.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Shares of Vail Resorts stock opened at $159.44 on Friday. 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 one year low of $151.99 and a one year high of $233.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The company reported $6.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.76 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.51%.

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.