Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $43.51, but opened at $45.80. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $46.75, with a volume of 2,056,126 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 8.9%

The company has a market cap of $33.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $40.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 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.