Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 12-Month Low at $42.92

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.92 and last traded at $43.01, with a volume of 1598384 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.15.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company 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 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 629,182 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,962,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $34,264,000 after purchasing an additional 451,710 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,114,000 after purchasing an additional 225,351 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,308,987 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $171,075,000 after purchasing an additional 198,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,076,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by 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.