Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

LVS has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.5%

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $57.10 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The firm has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 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 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $2,092,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 70,949 shares in the company, valued at $4,949,402.24. The trade was a 29.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 400 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 (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.