Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) to Issue $0.20 Quarterly Dividend

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th.

Las Vegas Sands has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 20.3% per year over the last three years. Las Vegas Sands has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.6%.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 8.7 %

NYSE LVS opened at $45.88 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.60. The firm has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 175.2% in the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.