Seaport Global Securities Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $72.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target dropped by analysts at Seaport Global Securities from $75.00 to $72.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Seaport Global Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.04% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on LVS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.52.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.49. The company had a trading volume of 6,026,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,386,704. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.27.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. This represents a 23.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at about $134,179,000. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698,398 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,874,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,806 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.