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

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 22,700 call options on the company. This is an increase of 53% compared to the average daily volume of 14,872 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LVS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,005 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,057 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,101 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $21,907,000 after purchasing an additional 232,091 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,101,190 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $119,799,000 after acquiring an additional 12,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth about $225,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $51.07 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $58.05. The company has a market capitalization of $35.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.95 and a 200-day moving average of $45.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.