Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Short Interest Update

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,240,000 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 22,720,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.92. 4,339,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,572,839. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.37 and its 200 day moving average is $47.72.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,086 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,301 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $8,019,000 after buying an additional 8,896 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $316,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 63,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,271 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.