Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Vail Resorts, Inc. $MTN

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth bought a new stake of 10,002 Vail Resorts shares (about $1.35M) in Q4, and institutional investors now own roughly 94.9% of the company.
• New Hampshire has opened an investigation into Vail’s use of a “blended” sales tax on Epic Pass purchases, raising the risk of refunds, penalties and reputational damage that could dent bookings or force changes to pass pricing/collection.
• Analysts’ consensus is a Hold with an average target of $161.82 after several downward revisions, while the stock trades near $122 and yields 7.3%—but the dividend payout ratio is a high 144.9%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 2.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 121,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,382,000 after purchasing an additional 3,440 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 1.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 148,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 24.1% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 815.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Vail Resorts in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTN shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $217.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $172.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vail Resorts from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vail Resorts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.82.

More Vail Resorts News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vail Resorts this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vail published its summer operations schedule, confirming lift, lodging and on-mountain programming that support non-winter revenue and help smooth seasonality; this can help summer visitation, F&B and lodging revenue. Vail Resorts announces summer operations schedule
• Negative Sentiment: New Hampshire officials have launched an investigation and the governor directed the attorney general to probe Vail’s practice of charging a “blended” sales tax on Epic Pass purchases; state leaders and customers have voiced outrage. The probe raises potential refund, penalty and compliance costs, plus reputational risk that could dent bookings or force changes to pass pricing/collection practices. Multiple outlets report the inquiry and political scrutiny. Vail Resorts add sales tax to Epic Pass purchases, sparking outrage NH launches investigation into Vail Resort’s Epic ski pass ‘blended sales tax’

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Vail Resorts stock opened at $122.07 on Thursday. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.51 and a 52-week high of $175.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.44 and a 200-day moving average of $139.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.06 by ($0.19). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 7.89%.The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. Vail Resorts's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Vail Resorts's dividend payout ratio is presently 144.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vail Resorts

In other Vail Resorts news, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $131.85 per share, with a total value of $25,051.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $730,317.15. The trade was a 3.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Katz acquired 37,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $131.81 per share, with a total value of $4,942,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 285,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,606,974.72. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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