Traders Buy High Volume of Las Vegas Sands Put Options (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 34,608 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the average daily volume of 25,147 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $266,538,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264,043 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 214.5% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,110,574 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $153,071,000 after buying an additional 2,121,546 shares during the period. Charles Lim Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 296.2% during the third quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 2,575,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $118,038,000 after buying an additional 1,925,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,815,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of LVS traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.66. 3,668,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,768,678. The company has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.00 and its 200-day moving average is $49.67. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 42.34%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.46.

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.