Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.42.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.0 %

LVS stock opened at $43.25 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.37 and its 200 day moving average is $47.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.