38,000 Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Las Vegas Sands stake by 9.9%, purchasing 38,000 shares to bring its holdings to 422,600 shares valued at approximately $15.98 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 39.16% of LVS.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: LVS has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $53.28 average price target, despite several recent target cuts and downgrades to “Hold.”
• Las Vegas Sands reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with $0.54 EPS and $3.22 billion in revenue, while revenue declined 3.5% year over year. The company maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 3.3% annual yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 422,600 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 38,000 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.07% of Las Vegas Sands worth $15,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. State Street Corp raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,159,570 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $700,221,000 after buying an additional 919,452 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,407,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $40,380,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,617,148 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $213,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,663,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $41.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Argus cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.28.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $36.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.04. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.14). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 177.43%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 49.18%.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, combining hotel accommodations, casinos, convention and exhibition facilities, restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venues and other leisure amenities. The company serves both mass-market and premium customers through large-scale properties designed to support tourism and business travel.

Las Vegas Sands' principal operations are in Macau and Singapore. Its Macau portfolio includes properties such as The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Macao and The Plaza Macao.

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