Short Interest in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Decreases By 15.3%

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,240,000 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 22,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LVS. Barclays reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

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.