Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 727 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vail Resorts by 8.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 7,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Vail Resorts by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,755,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MTN shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vail Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $223.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other Vail Resorts news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total transaction of $289,026.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,807,360.77. This trade represents a 3.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch bought 165 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $173.09 per share, for a total transaction of $28,559.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,547.83. This trade represents a 8.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

MTN opened at $184.24 on Monday. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.00 and a 52-week high of $236.92. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.82.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($4.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.28) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $265.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.84 million. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 7.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($3.35) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 147.26%.

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.