Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) Short Interest Up 18.8% in March

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,996,566 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the February 26th total of 2,522,196 shares. Approximately 8.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 738,235 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:VAC traded up $2.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.12. The stock had a trading volume of 89,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,029. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.24, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a one year low of $44.58 and a one year high of $86.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.86 and a 200 day moving average of $61.46.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.14. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a negative net margin of 6.12% and a positive return on equity of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.050-7.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently -34.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on VAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $46.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.67.

Insider Activity at Marriott Vacations Worldwide

In other Marriott Vacations Worldwide news, insider Michael Flaskey bought 14,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.26 per share, for a total transaction of $999,618.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 14,862 shares in the company, valued at $999,618.12. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 14,971 shares of company stock worth $1,006,280 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,971,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 71.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 635,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,987,000 after acquiring an additional 265,278 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $226,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,392,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,730,000 after purchasing an additional 234,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $12,633,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.52% of the company’s stock.

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.