Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives $68.55 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.5469.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE LVS opened at $55.75 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.95. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related 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 stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,477,991 shares of company stock worth $165,323,554. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.