New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $14.92 Million Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 13,164 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $14,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:LVS opened at $47.06 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $45.62 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.35. The company has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.28.

Las Vegas Sands 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.