Zacks Research Upgrades Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) to Hold

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.84.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $36.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.78. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $36.08 and a one year high of $70.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.38 and a 200 day moving average of $48.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 133.90% and a net margin of 12.59%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,159,570 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $700,221,000 after acquiring an additional 919,452 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $107,407,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,561,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $82,395,000 after purchasing an additional 651,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $40,380,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining and entertainment venues. The company’s properties are designed to serve leisure travelers, business visitors and convention groups.

Las Vegas Sands operates major integrated resorts in Macau, including The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Londoner Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao. In Singapore, it operates Marina Bay Sands, a large resort featuring hotel accommodations, gaming, shopping, dining, entertainment and convention facilities.