UBS Group Increases Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $48.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the casino operator's stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential downside of 3.37% from the company's previous close.

LVS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.15.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.67. 865,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,856,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,685 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,275 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,054 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $1,889,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently 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.