Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $69.00 target price on the casino operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $60.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $50.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.