Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.3125.

LVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $46.12 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $44.21 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 117.08%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 46.69%.

Key Headlines Impacting Las Vegas Sands

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still looking beyond near-term weakness because Las Vegas Sands is investing heavily in premium travel demand, including Macau property upgrades and an $8 billion Singapore expansion that could support future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff after earnings, some market coverage says LVS is gaining as investors focus on the company’s long-term assets and ignore temporary headwinds. Article Title

About Las Vegas Sands

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.