JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $64.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group set a $52.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.19.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:LVS opened at $45.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $44.22 and a one year high of $70.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,582,962 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $462,450,000 after acquiring an additional 396,705 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $513,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,206 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $364,892,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,780,266 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $203,616,000 after purchasing an additional 90,690 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.