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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Las Vegas Sands, with 11 buy, 6 hold, and 1 sell rating among 18 firms. The average 12-month price target is $62.31, though several analysts recently lowered their targets.
• Las Vegas Sands reported quarterly EPS of $0.59, below the $0.76 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.15 billion also missed forecasts and declined 0.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, implying an annualized payout of $1.20 and a 2.6% yield. Investors remain focused on its long-term growth investments, including Macau upgrades and an $8 billion Singapore expansion.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.3125.

LVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Key Headlines Impacting Las Vegas Sands

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still looking beyond near-term weakness because Las Vegas Sands is investing heavily in premium travel demand, including Macau property upgrades and an $8 billion Singapore expansion that could support future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff after earnings, some market coverage says LVS is gaining as investors focus on the company’s long-term assets and ignore temporary headwinds. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1,208.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 654 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $46.12 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $48.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $44.21 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 117.08%. The company's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.