Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on LVS. HSBC increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.28.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $47.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.35. The company has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $45.62 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $592,223,000 after buying an additional 6,279,390 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $197,463,000 after acquiring an additional 3,051,071 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 157.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,864,789 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $154,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,758 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.