Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $73.00 to $63.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands traded as low as $44.59 and last traded at $44.7790, with a volume of 3887203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.90.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $52.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.19.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $9,646,000 after purchasing an additional 79,641 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 35,566 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $57,150,000 after buying an additional 846,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

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.