Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Key Points

• Las Vegas Sands received a rating upgrade from Argus, moving from "hold" to "buy," with a price target of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.49% from the current stock price.
• Various research analysts have issued price targets for Las Vegas Sands, with an average target price of $57.67 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" across multiple reports.
• The company's recent earnings report showed $0.79 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 15% to $3.18 billion.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $60.00 price objective on the casino operator's stock. Argus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.49% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.67.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $52.41 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.04. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 51.16% and a net margin of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 11,197 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,005 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,057 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,088,597 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $158,630,000 after acquiring an additional 339,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,192,285 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $61,236,000 after acquiring an additional 10,544 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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