JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $60.00 to $62.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $53.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. 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 has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.85 and a 200-day moving average of $45.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $502,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,754 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 8,500,248 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $376,136,000 after purchasing an additional 68,568 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after acquiring an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% during 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 period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.