Amalgamated Bank Acquires 1,920 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,887 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 11,197 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,311,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,088,597 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $158,630,000 after buying an additional 339,992 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,192,285 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $61,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,544 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LVS. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE LVS opened at $47.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.31. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The company has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly 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). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.