Investors Purchase High Volume of Las Vegas Sands Call Options (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 27,547 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 98% compared to the typical volume of 13,892 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Macquarie reduced 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 research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

LVS traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.91. 3,791,175 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,969,364. The company has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.70. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% during the 1st 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,722,816 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $607,373,000 after acquiring an additional 592,321 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during 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. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.