Written by StockNews.com

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: VAC) early Thursday posted market-beating first quarter earnings results and backed its full-year outlook, as adjusted earnings jumped 20% from year-ago levels.

The Orlando, FL-based vacation resort operator reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, which was $0.04 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.18 and
• revenues rose 16.3% from last year to $487.5 million, also topping analysts’ view for $475.07 million.

Looking ahead, VAC:

• reiterated its previously announced full-year 2017 outlook...[and]
• expects 2017 EPS between $4.97 and $5.29, in-line with Wall Street’s estimate of $5.25 per share for the year.

Stephen P. Weisz, President & CEO commented via press release:

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our start to 2017. In the first quarter, adjusted EBITDA grew over 20 percent to over $62 million, and contract sales, on a year-over-year comparable basis, grew nearly 16%.

Our first quarter was a continuation of the strong performance we delivered in the fourth quarter of 2016 and gives us confidence that we will achieve 2017 full year contract sales growth of 9 to 15 percent, net income of $139 million to $148 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $276 million to $291 million.”

...Year-to-date, VAC has gained 35.55%, versus a 7.33% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

VAC currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #9 of 19 stocks in the Travel – Hotels/Resorts category.