Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Raised to $67.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Argus reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.92.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $53.41 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.71 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $197,463,000 after acquiring an additional 3,051,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.