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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.58.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE LVS traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.91. 3,791,175 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,961,317. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.70.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.