GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp., purchasing 20,875 shares valued at approximately $806,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Las Vegas Sands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of **1.9%**, with a payout ratio of **50.51%**.
• The company reported **strong earnings**, with $0.79 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.53, and achieved revenues of $3.18 billion, beating expectations of $2.83 billion.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased 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 and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,875 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LVS. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:LVS opened at $52.29 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The stock has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.31.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Argus upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.13.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.

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