California Public Employees Retirement System Has $34.05 Million Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 10.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 632,006 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,249 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $34,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:LVS opened at $45.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.54. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $44.22 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $30.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.31.

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.