Brokerages Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Price Target at $59.42

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.42.

Several research firms have commented on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $32.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.11.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.