Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th.

Las Vegas Sands has decreased its dividend by an average of 20.3% per year over the last three years. Las Vegas Sands has a payout ratio of 25.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.6%.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.3 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $45.75 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $43.77 and a twelve month high of $65.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 73,732 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 305,571 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $15,037,000 after buying an additional 139,236 shares in the last quarter. Aragon Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $428,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,756 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.47.

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.