Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 93,337 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 460% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,654 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LVS. UBS Group lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.61.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $2,092,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,949,402.24. This trade represents a 29.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,082,053 shares of company stock valued at $207,130,199 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $57.83 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

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.