Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.30 Per Share

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a 20.0% increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Las Vegas Sands has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Las Vegas Sands has a payout ratio of 35.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $2.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.2%.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 14.1%

Shares of LVS stock traded down $8.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $52.64. 10,479,561 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,791,500. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.08. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $35.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.97.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Seaport Research Partners dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.52.

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.