Las Vegas Sands Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 93,337 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 460% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,654 call options.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $2,092,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,949 shares in the company, valued at $4,949,402.24. The trade was a 29.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock valued at $207,130,199. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $57.83 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.80 and a 200-day moving average of $58.40.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.61.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.