714,368 Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Purchased by Interval Partners LP

Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 714,368 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $36,690,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 10.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 115,803 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $6,053,000 after acquiring an additional 11,261 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 75,456 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $39.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.92. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.