Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Stock Position Lifted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp significantly increased its Las Vegas Sands position in the first quarter, boosting its stake by 354.7% to 103,808 shares worth about $5.6 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 topping estimates and revenue of $3.58 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $65.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 354.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,808 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 80,980 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,748,681 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $201,979,000 after acquiring an additional 343,203 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 14,662 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 6,699 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.8% in the 1st quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 34,465 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 10,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 92,093 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $4,921,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $45.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $44.22 and a one year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LVS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.19.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

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