Brokerages Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Price Target at $66.45

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.5167.

Several brokerages recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Argus boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $9,215,579.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,351,479.68. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $2,092,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,949,402.24. This trade represents a 29.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,854,062 shares of company stock valued at $244,683,112 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at $774,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,499,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,426 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 68,555 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 7,625 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $67.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.24 and its 200 day moving average is $54.08. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.25%.

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.