Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Plans $0.20 Quarterly Dividend

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th.

Las Vegas Sands has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 20.3% per year over the last three years. Las Vegas Sands has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.6%.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $45.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.22 and a 200-day moving average of $49.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 73,732 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 305,571 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $15,037,000 after purchasing an additional 139,236 shares during the period. Aragon Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,756 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.