Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Argus cut Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $53.99 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $55.65. The company has a market cap of $39.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.29.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.60%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707 in the last three months. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% in the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.