Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 36.3%, holding 222,899 shares worth approximately $8.61 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have also adjusted their stakes in Las Vegas Sands, with institutional investors holding 39.16% of the company's stock.
• The company recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 with a yield of 1.9%.

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 36.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,899 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 59,310 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $8,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,249,208 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,593,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,307 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $283,644,000 after purchasing an additional 841,195 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $53.68. 3,487,695 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,070,876. 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 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.33.

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.