Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.75.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE LVS traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.92. The company had a trading volume of 422,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,062,740. The company's fifty day moving average is $38.19 and its 200-day moving average is $45.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.