Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

LVS has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.60.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock remained flat at $64.05 during midday trading on Monday. 1,656,225 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,614,604. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $67.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $6,499,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $892,637.65. This trade represents a 87.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 360,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $22,698,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $126,218,200. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.