Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $61.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning. They currently have an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LVS. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $45.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The company has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 795,377 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,851,000 after purchasing an additional 106,830 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,166 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 65,765 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.