Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Las Vegas Sands has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 18 brokerages, with 11 buy ratings and 7 hold ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $67.91.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion versus $3.32 billion expected. Revenue rose 25.3% year over year.
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares in March, trimming his direct ownership by 10.52%, while institutional investors have been increasing positions. Las Vegas Sands also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to a 2.4% annual yield.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.9063.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth $159,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 147.1% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 20,237 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 12,048 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 125.6% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 20,418 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 11,369 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 373.7% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 145,011 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $7,813,000 after purchasing an additional 114,400 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $50.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $52.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.87.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm's revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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