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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.92.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $6,405,744.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at $4,540,776.03. The trade was a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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 worth $10,861,707 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE LVS opened at $44.01 on Thursday. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The firm has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.