CenterBook Partners LP Acquires New Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Las Vegas Sands, buying 70,488 shares valued at about $4.6 million.
• Institutional interest in LVS remains strong, with firms like Bank of New York Mellon, Norges Bank, and others increasing or initiating positions; institutions and hedge funds now own 39.16% of the company.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue growth of 25.3%, while analysts maintained a Moderate Buy outlook with an average price target of $67.91.

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 70,488 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,588,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $513,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,206 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $364,892,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,723,494 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $200,335,000 after acquiring an additional 187,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $50.80 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $40.03 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $33.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.72.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

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