Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Las Vegas Sands has a dividend payout ratio of 25.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $2.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.6%.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded up $4.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.26. 13,500,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,370,374. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.94 and a 200 day moving average of $46.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The stock has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.