Aurora Investment Counsel Purchases 974 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Aurora Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,786 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the quarter. Vail Resorts comprises approximately 1.3% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $2,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTN. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 150.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vail Resorts in the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vail Resorts in the third quarter worth $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 318.8% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Vail Resorts by 123.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTN shares. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Vail Resorts from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.90.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Shares of Vail Resorts stock opened at $176.71 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.13. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.00 and a 12-month high of $236.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.14.

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

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 147.26%.

Insider Activity at Vail Resorts

In related news, insider Robert A. Katz sold 9,296 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.98, for a total transaction of $1,635,910.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,961 shares in the company, valued at $43,284,216.78. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $173.09 per share, with a total value of $28,559.85. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,547.83. This represents a 8.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.