Aberdeen Group plc Increases Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 4.5% during Q2, now holding 246,599 shares valued at approximately $10.73 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Las Vegas Sands, with upgrades and target price increases from firms such as Barclays and Mizuho, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Las Vegas Sands reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.79, exceeding estimates, and announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.0%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,599 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.20.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $49.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $58.05.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 55.37% and a net margin of 12.16%.Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands 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.

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