Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $46.40 and last traded at $46.50. 1,064,908 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,796,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.71.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 652,220 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $29,898,000 after acquiring an additional 30,500 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,264,000 after purchasing an additional 451,710 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $33,114,000 after purchasing an additional 225,351 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 15.6% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,195 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $3,076,000. 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.