Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 30,126 call options on the company. This is an increase of 299% compared to the average daily volume of 7,549 call options.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.21 on Monday, hitting $40.52. 1,425,660 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,204,751. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $35.03 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.55. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 177.43%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 49.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at $174,796,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at $107,407,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth $83,696,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 157.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,864,789 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $154,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth $67,068,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile