Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Now Covered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the casino operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.69% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LVS. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock traded up $0.74 on Monday, reaching $43.64. 4,379,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,939,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.