Needham Investment Management LLC Buys 13,000 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. $MTN

Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 59,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $7,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 17,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MTN stock opened at $134.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.76 and its 200-day moving average is $135.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.72. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.51 and a 52-week high of $172.00.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The company reported $8.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.97 by ($0.16). Vail Resorts had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th 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 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 201.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $143.00 to $134.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $138.00 to $119.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.45.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc is a leading mountain resort company that owns and operates an integrated network of ski areas, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets. The company’s signature Epic Pass program offers skiers and snowboarders season‐long access to its portfolio of resorts, while ancillary services such as ski and snowboard schools, equipment rental and retail drive additional revenue.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts was formed in 1997, building on the legacy of Vail Associates, which opened the Vail ski area in 1962.