Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Has $5.25 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 49.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 97,500 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 95,000 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $44.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $44.59 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.26.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LVS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.06.

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.