Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Las Vegas Sands hit a new 52-week low after Barclays cut its price target to $63 from $65, though the firm kept an overweight rating on the stock.
• Despite the pullback, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive overall, with 11 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings and an average target price of $67.16.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.58 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $63.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands traded as low as $45.12 and last traded at $45.7760, with a volume of 169583 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.19.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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 decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in 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 during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.0%

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 company has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $49.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.84.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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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