Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,457 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:LVS opened at $40.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.40. The company has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands 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.