Macquarie Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price lifted by Macquarie from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Macquarie currently has an outperform rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LVS. Mizuho upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $45.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.71. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 43.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,370,000. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after acquiring an additional 357,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 82.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,852 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $25,163,000 after acquiring an additional 225,510 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.