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

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 18 analysts (11 buy, 7 hold) with an average 1‑year price target of $67.84.
• Las Vegas Sands beat Q4 expectations with $0.85 EPS vs. $0.77 and $3.65B revenue vs. $3.33B (revenue +26% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 ($1.20 annualized, ~2.1% yield).
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares for about $3.29M (a 10.52% reduction in his holding), even as institutional investors materially increased positions (institutions now own ~39.16%).

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.8438.

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $64.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,186,257 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $532,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018,704 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $513,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,206 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $364,892,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of LVS opened at $57.66 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.85. The stock has a market cap of $38.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $32.20 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

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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