UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target cut by research analysts at UBS Group from $69.00 to $62.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the casino operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LVS. Seaport Research Partners dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:LVS opened at $51.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $40.03 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.03 and a 200-day moving average of $58.03.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 157.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,864,789 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $154,355,000 after buying an additional 1,750,758 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.