Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Short Interest Update

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,010,000 shares, an increase of 17.7% from the August 31st total of 12,750,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $0.64 on Monday, hitting $50.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,762,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,719,346. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $55.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,107,775 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,918,472,000 after buying an additional 209,589 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 27.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 891,796 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $46,124,000 after purchasing an additional 193,110 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,308,987 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $171,075,000 after buying an additional 198,413 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,964,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $145,888,000 after buying an additional 91,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 211,320 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $10,929,000 after buying an additional 15,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

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.