Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives $68.61 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.6094.

Several analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. 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, January 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $57.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. 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 (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. This represents a 23.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.