Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $69.00 price objective on the casino operator's stock, up from their prior price objective of $60.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LVS. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.42. 3,050,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,106,027. The firm has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.43 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.34. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.60.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.60%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.