JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $60.00 to $62.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LVS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $53.87. 3,378,764 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,686,731. The company has a market cap of $39.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.55.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $6,405,744.33. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,540,776.03. This represents a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 21.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,842 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 7,544 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7,647.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 443,325 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $19,617,000 after buying an additional 437,603 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,210 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 8.7% during the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 99.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 274,342 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $12,140,000 after buying an additional 137,071 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.