Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 93,337 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 460% compared to the typical volume of 16,654 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.61.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.5%

LVS traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.82. 4,219,420 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,173,027. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 87.01% and a net margin of 12.50%.The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at $31,244,695.68. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.