Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Receives $63.46 Average Price Target from Analysts

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.46.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $266,538,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264,043 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 214.5% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,110,574 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $153,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,546 shares in the last quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 296.2% during the third quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 2,575,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $118,038,000 after buying an additional 1,925,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,815,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $45.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.16. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $43.77 and a 1 year high of $65.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 42.34%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 38.65%.

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.