Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. Sells 23,162 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. $MTN

Key Points

• Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. reduced its Vail Resorts stake by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,162 shares and leaving it with 64,639 shares worth about $8.63 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Vail Resorts is mixed to cautious: several firms cut price targets, and the stock currently carries an average Hold rating with a consensus target price of $161.82.
• Vail Resorts reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing both EPS and revenue estimates, even as insiders including the CEO and CFO bought shares during the period.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. cut its stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,639 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,162 shares during the period. Vail Resorts accounts for approximately 2.8% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. owned 0.18% of Vail Resorts worth $8,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MTN. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 13,102 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 317.0% during the third quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 7,376 shares in the last quarter. Kazazian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vail Resorts in the third quarter worth $1,296,000. CenterBook Partners LP raised its holdings in Vail Resorts by 423.9% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 18,074 shares of the company's stock worth $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 14,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in Vail Resorts by 31.5% in the third quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 228,388 shares of the company's stock worth $34,160,000 after purchasing an additional 54,722 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MTN. Barclays lowered their price objective on Vail Resorts from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $159.00 to $151.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $169.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vail Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vail Resorts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.82.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

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

Vail Resorts Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MTN opened at $125.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.35. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.51 and a 12-month high of $175.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.70.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.06 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 7.89%.The company's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. Vail Resorts's dividend payout ratio is 144.86%.

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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