Vail Resorts, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $2.22 (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 2.22 per share on Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th.

Vail Resorts has raised its dividend by an average of 67.3% annually over the last three years. Vail Resorts has a payout ratio of 121.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Vail Resorts to earn $8.30 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $8.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 107.0%.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MTN traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $195.44. 1,117,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 532,169. Vail Resorts has a one year low of $165.00 and a one year high of $236.92. 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 company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.64.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported ($4.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.99) by $0.38. The business had revenue of $260.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.45 million. Vail Resorts had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($4.60) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vail Resorts will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other Vail Resorts news, Director John F. Sorte sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.07, for a total transaction of $289,026.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,807,360.77. This represents a 3.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 2,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,547.83. The trade was a 8.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vail Resorts from $182.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Vail Resorts from $222.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.00.

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.