Comparing Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Archon (OTCMKTS:ARHN)

Archon (OTCMKTS:ARHN) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Archon and Las Vegas Sands, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Archon	0	0	0	0	0.00
Las Vegas Sands	0	7	11	0	2.61

Las Vegas Sands has a consensus target price of $65.19, indicating a potential upside of 43.33%. Given Las Vegas Sands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Las Vegas Sands is more favorable than Archon.

Profitability

This table compares Archon and Las Vegas Sands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Archon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Las Vegas Sands	13.41%	118.27%	10.52%

Risk & Volatility

Archon has a beta of -0.05, suggesting that its share price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Archon and Las Vegas Sands”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Archon	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Las Vegas Sands	$13.02 billion	2.32	$1.63 billion	$2.70	16.84

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Archon.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are held by institutional investors. 80.0% of Archon shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Las Vegas Sands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats Archon on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Archon

Archon Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pioneer Hotel Inc., engages in the ownership, management, and operation of casinos and hotels in the United States. It operates the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall (the Pioneer) in Laughlin, Nevada that consists of a casino. The company also owns real estate properties on Las Vegas Boulevard South in Las Vegas, Nevada; and rental properties that include commercial office space in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Archon Corporation was founded in 1991 and is based in Laughlin, Nevada.

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. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.