JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $61.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $45.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.71. The company has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 795,377 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,851,000 after purchasing an additional 106,830 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,166 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 65,765 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.