Morgan Stanley Increases Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $55.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $49.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Argus downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Macquarie lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.92.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $52.76 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $55.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $39.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,107,775 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,918,472,000 after purchasing an additional 209,589 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,170,552 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,663,219,000 after purchasing an additional 531,799 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $502,307,000 after buying an additional 1,536,754 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 8,500,248 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $376,136,000 after buying an additional 68,568 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after buying an additional 5,039,072 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.