Las Vegas Sands Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 44,801 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 124% compared to the typical daily volume of 19,964 call options.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.3 %

LVS stock opened at $51.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.31. The company has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.42.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after buying an additional 5,039,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 178.3% during the second quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 1,600,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $70,800,000 after buying an additional 1,025,000 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $247,891,000 after buying an additional 977,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 44.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,949,670 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $130,523,000 after acquiring an additional 903,400 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.