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

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.5469.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 53,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $3,747,695.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,735 shares in the company, valued at $966,531.95. This trade represents a 79.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $2,092,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,949,402.24. The trade was a 29.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,024,508 shares of company stock worth $203,306,334. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $55.82 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.83. The firm has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.93.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 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.