Brokerages Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Price Target at $55.25

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.25.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $245,570,000 after buying an additional 5,039,072 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264,043 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,330,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $275,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,941 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $502,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $73,815,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $44.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.43. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 38.65%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.