Short Interest in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Decreases By 15.3%

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,240,000 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 22,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $43.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.50 and a 200 day moving average of $47.69.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. 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.