Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 154,750 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Factory Mutual Insurance Co. cut its Las Vegas Sands stake by 31.7% in the third quarter, selling 154,750 shares. It retained 333,000 shares valued at about $12.6 million.
• Las Vegas Sands’ latest quarter missed analyst expectations: EPS was $0.54 versus $0.68 expected, and revenue of $3.22 billion fell 3.5% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, a 2.9% indicated yield.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $53.28; shares opened at $40.70 in the article’s reported session.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. reduced its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 333,000 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 154,750 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. owned about 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands worth $12,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.9% during the second quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 2,012 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 92,093 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $4,921,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 24.2% in the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 886 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 40,491 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 6.4%

NYSE:LVS opened at $40.70 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The stock has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.78.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 177.43%. The business's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. HSBC reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. HC Wainwright cut Las Vegas Sands to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.28.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, combining hotel accommodations, casinos, convention and exhibition facilities, restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venues and other leisure amenities. The company serves both mass-market and premium customers through large-scale properties designed to support tourism and business travel.

Las Vegas Sands' principal operations are in Macau and Singapore. Its Macau portfolio includes properties such as The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Macao and The Plaza Macao.

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