Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $38.08 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,953,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 115,803 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $6,053,000 after purchasing an additional 11,261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 206.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. 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.