Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.58.

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE LVS opened at $44.00 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day moving average of $47.18. The company has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.