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

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 26,840,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the November 15th total of 21,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.48. The stock had a trading volume of 4,659,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,682,487. The company has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

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 return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total value of $6,405,744.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,540,776.03. The trade was a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707 over the last three months. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.42.

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.