Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $69.00 price target on the casino operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $60.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 38.28% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.25.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $49.90 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.80 and a 200-day moving average of $46.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $6,405,744.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at $4,540,776.03. This represents a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after buying an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at $619,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 833,487 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,882,000 after buying an additional 191,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.