Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 33,745 call options on the company. This is an increase of 393% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,846 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LVS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $48.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $44.21 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.93. The firm has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 16.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 101,891 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,695 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,871 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.