HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 111,517 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,000. Las Vegas Sands makes up about 0.9% of HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 79,641 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 35,566 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $82,395,000 after purchasing an additional 651,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $4,561,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LVS. Mizuho lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $47.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The company has a market capitalization of $30.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $44.21 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.69 and its 200 day moving average is $51.40.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given 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 was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

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.