JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $61.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price decreased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 26.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $48.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average is $46.70. Las Vegas Sands has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. Research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This represents 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,518,000 after buying an additional 44,223 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 833,487 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,882,000 after purchasing an additional 191,805 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.