Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Raised to $78.50 at Citigroup

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $76.75 to $78.50 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the casino operator’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.03.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $54.98 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $31.60 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 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 (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $12,225,000 after purchasing an additional 177,695 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $2,143,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $57,150,000 after purchasing an additional 846,155 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 934,927 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $60,901,000 after purchasing an additional 466,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $1,262,000. 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.