Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 34.40%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE LVS traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $50.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,728,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,363,554. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.43 and a 200 day moving average of $49.62. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $43.77 and a twelve month high of $65.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.37.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after buying an additional 4,264,043 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,638,753 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,556,945,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439,735 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,298,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,338,514,000 after purchasing an additional 330,221 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,898,679 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $540,242,000 after purchasing an additional 394,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 8,645,791 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $425,149,000 after purchasing an additional 612,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.