Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VAC. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $115.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $83.00 price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.13.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VAC opened at $59.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.51. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a 52-week low of $44.58 and a 52-week high of $91.18. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.100 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 24th. This is a positive change from Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 71.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lizanne Galbreath bought 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.51 per share, with a total value of $255,805.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 25,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,958.14. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonice M. Gray acquired 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.47 per share, for a total transaction of $59,917.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,205 shares in the company, valued at $719,276.35. The trade was a 9.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 96,209 shares of company stock worth $4,573,353. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the second quarter worth $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 627.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 90.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 89.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, specializes in the development, marketing and management of vacation ownership resorts and related products. Originally launched as a division of Marriott International in 1984, the company became a separate publicly traded entity in 2011. Since then, it has expanded its offerings through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, establishing itself as a leading provider in the global timeshare industry.

The company’s core business activities include selling vacation ownership interests, managing a growing portfolio of branded resorts and operating a loyalty program that allows members to exchange or use points at affiliated properties.