Norges Bank Purchases New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Las Vegas Sands, buying 5.6 million shares worth about $364.9 million and ending the quarter with roughly 0.83% ownership of the company.
• Las Vegas Sands recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion versus $3.32 billion expected, while revenue rose 25.3% year over year.
• The company also paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend and continues to receive a Moderate Buy consensus from analysts, with a target price of $68.28.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,605,957 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $364,892,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.83% of Las Vegas Sands at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $53.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during 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%.The company's revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.28.

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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