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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.5469.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Zacks Research cut Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.65 and its 200-day moving average is $58.81. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.