Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $45.62 and last traded at $45.84, with a volume of 140510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. HSBC increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 157.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,864,789 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $154,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,758 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.