Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Macquarie upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.52.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE LVS opened at $66.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,874,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,806 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $436,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698,398 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after purchasing an additional 459,821 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $382,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.