Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Lowered to $50.00 at Morgan Stanley

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $50.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group lowered Las Vegas Sands from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $70.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.25.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 3.0 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $39.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.12. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $55.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.67.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $266,538,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $245,570,000 after buying an additional 5,039,072 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,815,760,000 after buying an additional 4,264,043 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 214.5% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,110,574 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $153,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 58.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,330,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $275,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.