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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.42.

LVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total value of $6,405,744.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,540,776.03. This represents a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 10.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 115,803 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $6,053,000 after acquiring an additional 11,261 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $1,953,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 62.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,082 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 8,466 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $51.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.16. The company has a market capitalization of $37.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 39.60%.

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.