Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,510,000 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the April 30th total of 17,750,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Macquarie dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LVS traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $40.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,269,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,097,313. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.74. The firm has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current 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 2.44%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.