Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 103,334 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 334% compared to the typical daily volume of 23,794 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LVS. Barclays reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $45.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.59. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $43.77 and a 12-month high of $65.58. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 46,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,716 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,612 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 13,502 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,848 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 8,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.