Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.84 and last traded at $60.4910, with a volume of 252113 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.13.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total value of $41,216,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,200,000 shares of company stock valued at $70,822,000 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.