Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $1.53 Million Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,843 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $44.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

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.