North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter, buying 23,704 shares worth about $1.54 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $68.28, even as some analysts slightly adjusted their targets.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 and revenue of $3.59 billion, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share for a 2.4% annualized yield.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,704 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,543,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were 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 owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $49.91 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.78 and a 200-day moving average of $59.02. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $39.29 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.85.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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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