Westpac Banking Corp Purchases New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 65,994 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,048,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,307,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at $472,000. HughesLittle Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,151,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,321,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.3%

LVS stock opened at $47.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $44.21 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands 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.