Mizuho Cuts Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $65.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective lowered by Mizuho from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.9 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $45.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.63. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $43.77 and a 12 month high of $65.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,638,753 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,556,945,000 after acquiring an additional 5,439,735 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,538,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264,043 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 214.5% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,110,574 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $153,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Lim Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 296.2% in the third quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 2,575,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $118,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,000 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.