Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,058 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,739 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4,502.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,512,696 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,086,051,000 after purchasing an additional 23,001,830 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after buying an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after buying an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $174,796,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $43.29 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.22. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $42.72 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The company has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $52.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Friday, August 21st. HC Wainwright downgraded Las Vegas Sands to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus cut Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) develops and operates integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and meeting facilities, dining, retail, entertainment and other leisure offerings. The company primarily serves international tourism, business travel and premium gaming markets.

Las Vegas Sands’ principal properties are Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and a portfolio of integrated resorts in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao.