Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Price Target Cut to $97.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $100 to $97 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 15.06% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus is “Hold,” with an average target of $107.75; eight analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold and two Sell.
• Latest quarterly EPS of $2.64 beat estimates of $2.57, but revenue of $1.37 billion fell short of the $1.42 billion forecast; revenue was up 8.2% year over year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $97.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential downside of 15.06% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.75.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of VAC opened at $114.20 on Thursday. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a one year low of $44.58 and a one year high of $131.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of -11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.31.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a positive return on equity of 12.27% and a negative net margin of 6.47%. The business's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Pighini sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,520. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christian Asmar sold 750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.49, for a total transaction of $83,617,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,380,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,927,398.82. The trade was a 18.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 13.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marriott Vacations Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAC. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 474,037 shares of the company's stock worth $30,869,000 after purchasing an additional 52,007 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 200,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,576,000 after buying an additional 38,061 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,975,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 2nd quarter worth $16,002,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 2nd quarter worth $14,751,000. 89.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation NYSE: VAC is a global vacation ownership and leisure travel company. It develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership interests, which provide customers with access to accommodations and resort experiences through points-based and deeded ownership programs. The company also operates related vacation exchange, rental, resort management, and travel businesses.

Its portfolio includes vacation ownership and related offerings under brands such as Marriott Vacation Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, and Aqua-Aston.

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