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

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.75.

LVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Macquarie cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.11. 7,920,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,166,379. The company's 50 day moving average price is $37.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.89. The company has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. 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 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.