Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $52.50 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the casino operator's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Macquarie lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.50.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $52.41. 6,936,695 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,107,893. The company has a market cap of $37.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average is $42.09. 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 $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 51.16% and a net margin of 12.16%. Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,249,208 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,593,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 3.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,722,816 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $607,373,000 after purchasing an additional 592,321 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

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.