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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.46.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 652,220 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $29,898,000 after purchasing an additional 30,500 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,264,000 after buying an additional 451,710 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,114,000 after buying an additional 225,351 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,195 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $3,076,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $45.78 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.67. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $43.77 and a one year high of $65.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 42.34%. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

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.