Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,876 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 44,848 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $17,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 79,641 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 35,566 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $82,395,000 after purchasing an additional 651,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $4,561,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE LVS opened at $46.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.80. The company has a market capitalization of $29.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $44.21 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 133.90% and a net margin of 12.59%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LVS. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.