Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 on May 15th

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the casino operator on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th.

Las Vegas Sands has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 20.3% annually over the last three years. Las Vegas Sands has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Las Vegas Sands to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.6%.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $45.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $43.77 and a 12-month high of $65.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,815,760,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264,043 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,638,753 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,556,945,000 after acquiring an additional 5,439,735 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,298,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,338,514,000 after acquiring an additional 330,221 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,898,679 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $540,242,000 after acquiring an additional 394,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 8,645,791 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $425,149,000 after acquiring an additional 612,511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.47.

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.