Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $66.00 to $67.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.05.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $58.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.