Financial Review: Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) vs. Canterbury Park (NASDAQ:CPHC)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Canterbury Park (NASDAQ:CPHC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canterbury Park has a beta of -0.4, meaning that its stock price is 140% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Las Vegas Sands and Canterbury Park, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Las Vegas Sands	0	10	11	0	2.52
Canterbury Park	1	0	0	0	1.00

Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus price target of $59.10, indicating a potential upside of 55.68%. Given Las Vegas Sands’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Las Vegas Sands is more favorable than Canterbury Park.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Canterbury Park”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Las Vegas Sands	$13.02 billion	1.89	$1.63 billion	$2.57	14.77
Canterbury Park	$59.57 million	1.38	-$530,000.00	$0.02	793.00

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Canterbury Park. Las Vegas Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canterbury Park, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.4% of Canterbury Park shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.7% of Canterbury Park shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Las Vegas Sands pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Canterbury Park pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Las Vegas Sands pays out 46.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canterbury Park pays out 1,400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Las Vegas Sands has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Las Vegas Sands is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Canterbury Park’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Las Vegas Sands	12.59%	133.90%	9.99%
Canterbury Park	0.20%	0.14%	0.10%

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats Canterbury Park on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Las Vegas Sands

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. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Canterbury Park

Canterbury Park Holding Corp. engages in hosting and managing pari mutuel wagering activities. It operates through the following business segments: Horse Racing, Card Casino, Food & Beverage and Development. The Horse Racing segment includes simulcast and live horse racing operations. The Card Casino segment holds unbanked card games, poker and table games. The Food and Beverage segment consists of concession stands, restaurant and buffet, bars, and other food venues. The Development segment owns land for racetrack operations. Canterbury Park Holding was founded by Curtis A. Samson, Randall D. Sampson, and Dale H. Schenian on March 24, 1994 and is headquartered in Shakopee, MN.