Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $78.50 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 57.15% from the stock’s previous close.

LVS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.81.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $46.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $45.12 and a 1-year high of $70.45. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.69.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $9,646,000 after purchasing an additional 79,641 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 35,566 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,390,000 after buying an additional 19,488 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,051,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $57,150,000 after buying an additional 846,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.