Brokerages Set Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Price Target at $58.42

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.25.

Several research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 46,078 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 53,098 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.6% in the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 23,987 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LVS opened at $50.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.38. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 39.60%.

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.