Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,510 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 534 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at $841,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 620,611 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,453,000 after purchasing an additional 25,560 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,709 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,250 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 77,226 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $41.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $55.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.59. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.11.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Macquarie cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

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.