Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target Cut to $53.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $53.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $45.88 on Thursday. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $43.77 and a fifty-two week high of $65.58. The stock has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 652,220 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $29,898,000 after buying an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,264,000 after purchasing an additional 451,710 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,114,000 after purchasing an additional 225,351 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.6% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,195 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,076,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.