Continental Advisors LLC Buys 25,000 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Continental Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 35.5%, owning a total of 95,325 shares valued at approximately $3.68 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Las Vegas Sands with an average target price of $59.00, reflecting positive sentiment for the stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 50.51%.

Continental Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,325 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Las Vegas Sands accounts for about 2.1% of Continental Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Continental Advisors LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $183,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,249,208 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,593,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,307 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $283,644,000 after purchasing an additional 841,195 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,442,798 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $364,775,000 after purchasing an additional 790,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.47.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock traded down $1.18 on Friday, reaching $53.53. The stock had a trading volume of 5,880,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,394,868. The stock has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.04. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $58.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 55.37% and a net margin of 12.16%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.