Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Position Increased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 50.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,149 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 179,923 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.07% of Las Vegas Sands worth $23,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $41.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $55.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.55.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.