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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.2813.

Several research firms have issued reports on LVS. Barclays boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $49.91 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $39.29 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.02.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in 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. increased its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 6,930 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.