Stifel Financial Corp Sells 7,607 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,999 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 7,607 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 3.5 %

LVS stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $38.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

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

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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