Brokerages Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) PT at $56.75

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.58.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $42.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.70. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 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.