Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.61 and last traded at $56.33, with a volume of 981419 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna lifted 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.67 and its 200 day moving average is $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total value of $6,405,744.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,540,776.03. This trade represents a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,466 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.