Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.25.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $50.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.60%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707 over the last 90 days. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.