Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $49.90, but opened at $51.46. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $50.11, with a volume of 388,668 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LVS. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.60%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. The trade was 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 worth $10,861,707. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by 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.