Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Position

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Las Vegas Sands stake by 6.7% in the third quarter, selling 38,740 shares and retaining 540,601 shares worth about $20.4 million.
• Las Vegas Sands missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $0.54 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $3.22 billion versus $3.33 billion; revenue declined 3.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating is Hold, with an average price target of $53.28. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,601 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 38,740 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $20,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $174,796,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth about $107,407,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth about $83,696,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 157.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,864,789 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $154,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,068,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock opened at $40.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.78. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $35.03 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.64.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business 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 (DPR) is presently 49.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LVS. Weiss Ratings cut Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. HSBC dropped 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. Finally, Susquehanna set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.28.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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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