Oak Thistle LLC Invests $535,000 in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,856 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.2%

LVS traded up $0.62 on Monday, hitting $53.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,625,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,824,452. The firm has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 51.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.67.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

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.