Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 547,756 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 20.7%, acquiring an additional 547,756 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to approximately 3.2 million shares.
• Las Vegas Sands reported a strong earnings performance with an EPS of $0.79 for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.53.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 1.9% yield and a payout ratio of 50.51%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,200,214 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 547,756 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.45% of Las Vegas Sands worth $123,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,773 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,686 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,870 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 40,250 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.3% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,848 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of LVS stock traded up $1.4920 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.0020. 4,015,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,099,417. The stock has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.08. 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 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $49.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.23.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LVS. Mizuho upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna cut their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.33.

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.