Zacks Research Downgrades Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) to Hold

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

LVS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Argus raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.52.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $66.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.98. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $14,712,937.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after buying an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $134,179,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after buying an additional 2,698,398 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 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.