Analysts Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Target Price at $62.31

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.8750.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup dropped 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

LVS stock opened at $48.60 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.84. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $44.21 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 710,484 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $32,817,000 after buying an additional 101,891 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,695 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,578 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,871 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 822,268 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $37,981,000 after purchasing an additional 255,623 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.