Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.2813.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.0%

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $51.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $39.29 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.14. 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 (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business’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 transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 139.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 531,223 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,622,000 after purchasing an additional 309,822 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 18,212 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter valued at $808,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 180,700 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $9,736,000 after buying an additional 50,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 753.9% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 102,696 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 90,669 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.