Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Macquarie decreased their target price 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. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.3 %

LVS stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.68. The company had a trading volume of 5,601,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,483,504. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $35.80 and a 52 week high of $36.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.64.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $481,873,000 after buying an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. 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.