Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 82,466 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 376% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,328 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 9.9 %

NYSE LVS opened at $33.74 on Thursday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.