Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday after CICC Research raised their price target on the stock from $61.20 to $67.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.45 and traded as high as $40.97. CICC Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $40.6950, with a volume of 8,513,462 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on LVS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Friday, August 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 886 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 174.6% during the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,634 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.73.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.14). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 177.43% and a net margin of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 49.18%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, combining hotel accommodations, casinos, convention and exhibition facilities, restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venues and other leisure amenities. The company serves both mass-market and premium customers through large-scale properties designed to support tourism and business travel.

Las Vegas Sands’ principal operations are in Macau and Singapore. Its Macau portfolio includes properties such as The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Macao and The Plaza Macao.