AXS Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,969 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 55,712 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Westshore Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Westshore Wealth LLC now owns 4,904 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% during the second quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 6,227 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.5% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 38,897 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $49.08. 3,427,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,305,936. The company has a market capitalization of $37.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.77, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $41.42 and a one year high of $65.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.02 and a 200 day moving average of $53.80.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 178.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 7th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.91%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LVS. StockNews.com began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 13th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.68.

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.