Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,633 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.6% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 78,928 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 705,585 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $27,257,000 after acquiring an additional 50,646 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3,318.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 89,042 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 86,437 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,489,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.20. 4,699,922 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,086,662. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.53. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.