Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Barclays from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 14.00% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LVS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Mizuho raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $53.51. 1,593,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,679,066. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.82 and its 200 day moving average is $45.55. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The company has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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 business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $502,307,000 after buying an additional 1,536,754 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 8,500,248 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $376,136,000 after purchasing an additional 68,568 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 977,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.