HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd. Invests $5.15 Million in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 111,517 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,000. Las Vegas Sands makes up approximately 0.9% of HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,582,962 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $462,450,000 after purchasing an additional 396,705 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $513,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,206 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $364,892,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,780,266 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $203,616,000 after purchasing an additional 90,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. HC Wainwright cut shares of Las Vegas Sands to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $47.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.40. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $44.21 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 133.90% and a net margin of 12.59%.The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.69%.

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.