Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $53.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

LVS has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $58.00.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $39.18 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $38.92 and a 12 month high of $60.47. The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 43.61%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at $409,000. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 23.3% in the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,260 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $502,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,754 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at $1,027,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 10.7% in the second quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 372,471 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $16,482,000 after acquiring an additional 35,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.