Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Las Vegas Sands hit a new 52-week low after Wells Fargo cut its price target from $65 to $53, while maintaining an equal weight rating. The stock fell as low as $44.59 during trading.
• Despite the selloff, analyst sentiment is still mixed-to-positive overall, with 11 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings. MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.06.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with EPS of $0.91 and revenue of $3.58 billion. Las Vegas Sands also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30, implying a 2.7% annualized yield.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $53.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands traded as low as $44.59 and last traded at $44.7790, with a volume of 3887203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.90.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 6,930 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,945 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,859 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.26.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.

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