UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Raises PT to $66 on Vail Resorts; Trends Improvement Continues

Stifel Nicolaus maintained Vail Resorts

with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $63.00 to $66.00. Stifel Nicolaus commented, "We expect MTN shares to trade higher exiting the quarter, following a report of relatively in-line F2Q13 results, coupled with management's decision to reiterate its previously revised FY13 guidance and reward shareholders with a 10% increase in the company's dividend ($0.21 vs. $0.19). Although management elected to maintain guidance, we inferred from their commentary that visitation and spending trends, particularly at its Colorado resorts, have continued to build momentum subsequent to weather-impacted early season results, leading us to believe guidance could prove conservative, provided recent encouraging trends persist throughout the balance of the 2012/13 ski season." Vail Resorts closed at $56.70 on Wednesday.