Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Short Interest Update

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,560,083 shares, an increase of 22.0% from the December 15th total of 10,294,335 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,097,254 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,097,254 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.05.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE LVS traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $58.93. The company had a trading volume of 8,025,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,713,117. The company has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.61. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,351,479.68. This trade represents a 23.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,806 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698,398 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after purchasing an additional 459,821 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $382,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $293,371,000 after buying an additional 1,660,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.