Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Short Interest Up 27.6% in November

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 26,840,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the November 15th total of 21,040,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE LVS traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.48. The stock had a trading volume of 4,659,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,682,487. The firm has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.69.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.42.

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.