Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.31.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE LVS opened at $46.12 on Thursday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $44.21 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The company has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 117.08% and a net margin of 12.59%.Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 79,641 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 35,566 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,390,000 after acquiring an additional 19,488 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $2,051,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $82,395,000 after purchasing an additional 651,214 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Las Vegas Sands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still looking beyond near-term weakness because Las Vegas Sands is investing heavily in premium travel demand, including Macau property upgrades and an $8 billion Singapore expansion that could support future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff after earnings, some market coverage says LVS is gaining as investors focus on the company’s long-term assets and ignore temporary headwinds. Article Title

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.