Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.81. The stock had a trading volume of 4,021,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,967,274. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $34.33 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 51.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.84.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,322,350 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $216,252,000 after acquiring an additional 283,907 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,527,177 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $164,494,000 after buying an additional 51,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,822,120 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $98,012,000 after buying an additional 16,674 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.