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

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.46.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LVS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CNB Bank purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 150.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 681 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock opened at $45.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $43.77 and a 12-month high of $61.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.62.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

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.