Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Rated “Buy” in New Coverage at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $71.50 price target on the casino operator’s stock.

LVS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.69.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.0%

LVS stock opened at $37.02 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $70.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.01 and a 200-day moving average of $47.39.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 46.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,159,570 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $700,221,000 after purchasing an additional 919,452 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,407,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $82,395,000 after buying an additional 651,214 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $40,380,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.9% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,617,148 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $213,266,000 after buying an additional 1,244,943 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining and entertainment venues. The company’s properties are designed to serve leisure travelers, business visitors and convention groups.

Las Vegas Sands operates major integrated resorts in Macau, including The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Londoner Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao. In Singapore, it operates Marina Bay Sands, a large resort featuring hotel accommodations, gaming, shopping, dining, entertainment and convention facilities.