Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price Down 5.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s share price fell 5.2% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $59.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands traded as low as $45.96 and last traded at $45.73. 901,004 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,150,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.24.

LVS has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.81 and its 200-day moving average is $46.73.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 43.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

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.