Wells Fargo & Company Raises Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $60.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the casino operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on LVS. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered Las Vegas Sands from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $49.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Argus lowered Las Vegas Sands from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $55.83.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $51.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $55.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.12.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 122,717 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $6,039,000 after purchasing an additional 19,165 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 151,429 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $7,452,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 609,990 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,018,000 after buying an additional 53,102 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 511,213 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $25,157,000 after buying an additional 92,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.