Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Lowered to $49.00 at Morgan Stanley

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

LVS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $45.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.22. The firm has a market cap of $32.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 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.