Empowered Funds LLC Has $10.59 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2,260.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,482 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 188,158 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279,390 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,582,962 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $462,450,000 after buying an additional 396,705 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $513,757,000 after buying an additional 1,246,206 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $364,892,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,780,266 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $203,616,000 after buying an additional 90,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.7%

LVS stock opened at $49.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $44.21 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.69%.

Las Vegas Sands 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.