Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Seaport Global Securities

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target decreased by Seaport Global Securities from $75.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. Seaport Global Securities currently has a buy rating on the casino operator’s stock.

LVS has been the subject of several other research reports. Argus upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed 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 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.52.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, reaching $60.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,026,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,386,704. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

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

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.