Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) gapped up before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.34.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business 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 firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 178.3% during the second quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 1,600,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $70,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,000 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% in the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $247,891,000 after purchasing an additional 977,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 44.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,949,670 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $130,523,000 after purchasing an additional 903,400 shares during the period. 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.