Head to Head Review: Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) versus Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Sweetgreen”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Las Vegas Sands	$13.02 billion	2.25	$1.63 billion	$2.57	17.60
Sweetgreen	$681.77 million	1.21	-$134.07 million	$0.10	69.40

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Sweetgreen. Las Vegas Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sweetgreen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.8% of Sweetgreen shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Sweetgreen shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Las Vegas Sands and Sweetgreen, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Las Vegas Sands	1	8	10	0	2.47
Sweetgreen	3	12	4	0	2.05

Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus target price of $61.88, suggesting a potential upside of 36.83%. Sweetgreen has a consensus target price of $7.10, suggesting a potential upside of 2.31%. Given Las Vegas Sands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Las Vegas Sands is more favorable than Sweetgreen.

Volatility and Risk

Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sweetgreen has a beta of 2.19, meaning that its share price is 119% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Sweetgreen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Las Vegas Sands	12.59%	133.90%	9.99%
Sweetgreen	2.01%	-32.94%	-16.42%

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats Sweetgreen on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates fast food restaurants serving healthy foods at scale in the United States. The company also accepts orders through its online and mobile ordering platforms, as well as sells gift cards that do not have an expiration date and can be redeemed. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.