Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $43.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $730,295,000 after buying an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.