Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.31.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of LVS opened at $49.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.37 and its 200 day moving average is $42.19. The company has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,889,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 55,848 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 6,790 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.