Barclays Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $57.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Barclays from $59.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.75% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LVS. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.31.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of LVS stock traded up $2.03 on Friday, reaching $45.69. 5,468,065 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,973,809. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $43.00 and a 1-year high of $61.25. The stock has a market cap of $34.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.29.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 629,182 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,962,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,264,000 after acquiring an additional 451,710 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,114,000 after acquiring an additional 225,351 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,076,000. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.