Arkadios Wealth Advisors Purchases New Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors has made a new investment of $529,000 in Las Vegas Sands Corp., acquiring approximately 13,691 shares in the first quarter.
• The stock recently reported earnings of $0.79 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.53, and enjoyed a 15% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Las Vegas Sands has initiated a $2 billion share repurchase program, signaling management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,691 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,021,205,000 after buying an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $283,644,000 after purchasing an additional 841,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,652,411 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $290,308,000 after purchasing an additional 24,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.33.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.5%

LVS stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,891,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,761,974. The stock has a market cap of $36.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $46.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.48.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.