Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $69.00 target price on the casino operator’s stock, up from their prior target price of $60.00.

LVS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $50.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.75 and its 200-day moving average is $46.40. The firm has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands 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 through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

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

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.