Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target hoisted by Argus from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Argus currently has a buy rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.60.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $66.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock has a market cap of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.37.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 17,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.97, for a total transaction of $1,196,767.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,802,553.76. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 53,257 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total transaction of $3,747,695.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,531.95. This represents a 79.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,568,459 shares of company stock valued at $158,809,266 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 213 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.