Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $53.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65 to $53 while keeping an equal weight rating, implying about 15.6% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain mixed: several firms recently raised or lowered targets, but the broader consensus is still a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $66.06.
• Las Vegas Sands reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while the stock was trading near its 52-week low at $45.86 and fell 1.8% on the day.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the casino operator's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.57% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on LVS. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Mizuho raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.06.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $45.12 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.41.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $592,223,000 after buying an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,582,962 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $462,450,000 after acquiring an additional 396,705 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $513,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,206 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $364,892,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,780,266 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $203,616,000 after purchasing an additional 90,690 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

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