Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Trading Down 5.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) shares were down 5.2% on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $59.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands traded as low as $45.96 and last traded at $45.73. Approximately 901,004 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,150,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.24.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LVS. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price 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. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 4.9 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.71. The firm has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

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.