Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 27,547 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 98% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,892 call options.
Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance
LVS stock traded up $0.49 on Friday, hitting $44.11. The company had a trading volume of 5,912,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,936,010. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $40.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.54. The stock has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 55.56%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.58.
View Our Latest Report on Las Vegas Sands
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in 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 worth $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 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 worth $730,295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth approximately $183,836,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,571,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $1,593,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267,307 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Las Vegas Sands
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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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