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

Key Points

• Las Vegas Sands Corp. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $59.00.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 15.0% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Las Vegas Sands recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Argus raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,834,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,562,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average price is $52.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.24. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $58.05.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. Las Vegas Sands's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research 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, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.