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

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.9063.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LVS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their target price 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. reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 8,132 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 91.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at $414,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 70.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 7,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $50.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.87. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $40.03 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

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.