Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,920,000 shares, a decrease of 21.9% from the June 30th total of 13,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.4 %

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $39.18. 6,490,774 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,705,727. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.93. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $60.47.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 43.61%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 150.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 681 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently 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.