Analysts Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Price Target at $56.75

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.75.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE LVS opened at $38.32 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.20.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

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.