Citigroup Boosts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $67.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $64.50 to $67.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 45.98% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock opened at $45.90 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.90 and its 200-day moving average is $46.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 43.76%. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 795,377 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $40,851,000 after acquiring an additional 106,830 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,166 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 65,765 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.