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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.45.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Zacks Research raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.5%

LVS opened at $65.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.62. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total value of $41,216,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,104,062 shares of company stock valued at $194,591,786. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,822,806 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,722,816 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $607,373,000 after buying an additional 592,321 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $436,883,000 after buying an additional 2,698,398 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $430,863,000 after buying an additional 459,821 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $382,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31,153 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is 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.