Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $65.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.23, but opened at $48.09. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $46.05, with a volume of 3,403,061 shares.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% in the first quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,842 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.