Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Issues Earnings Results

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 8.7 %

LVS stock opened at $45.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.60. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $43.77 and a 12 month high of $65.58. The company has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 175.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $113,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.47.

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.