SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 651,214 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 74.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 651,214 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $82,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $592,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $197,463,000 after buying an additional 3,051,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $47.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The company has a market capitalization of $31.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $40.94 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.00 and its 200 day moving average is $56.51.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.