Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Call-option trading surged: Investors bought 30,126 LVS call options, about 299% above the average daily volume.
• Las Vegas Sands missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.54 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $3.22 billion versus $3.33 billion expected; revenue fell 3.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $53.28. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 30,126 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 299% compared to the average daily volume of 7,549 call options.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.21 on Monday, reaching $40.52. 1,425,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,204,751. The firm has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $35.03 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.55.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 177.43%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 49.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Seaport Research Partners lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 886 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 174.6% during the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,634 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.2% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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