Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $78.50 to $73.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the casino operator’s stock.

LVS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.81.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.65. 3,356,805 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,364,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.64. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $45.12 and a 1-year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 8,132 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 91.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth about $414,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 70.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 7,243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.