TLDR
- TD Asset Management raised its LVS stake by 18.3% in Q3, valuing its position at ~$9.81 million.
- LVS beat Q4 earnings expectations with EPS of $0.85 vs. $0.77 expected, and revenue of $3.65B — up 26% year-over-year.
- The quarterly dividend was raised to $0.30 (from $0.25), giving an annualized yield of ~2.1%.
- Insiders sold roughly 2.61 million shares worth ~$174.5M in the last 90 days, including a 1.2M-share sale by then-CEO Robert Goldstein.
- Patrick Dumont officially took over as CEO on March 1, with expansion plans in Singapore, Macau, UAE, and North Texas on the agenda.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is heading into a new chapter. Patrick Dumont became CEO on March 1, replacing Robert Goldstein — a transition that had been telegraphed by the board for some time.
Dumont joined the company in 2010, was appointed president and COO in January 2021, and has sat on the board since 2017. He brings more than 25 years of experience across management, development, operations, and corporate finance. He is also the son-in-law of top shareholder Miriam Adelson.
Alongside the CEO role, Dumont was appointed chairman of Sands China Ltd., the company’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary.
His ties to Texas are well-documented. Dumont is co-owner and governor of the Dallas Mavericks. The Adelson-Dumont family also controls roughly 250 acres in Irving, near the former Texas Stadium site, along with a separate downtown Dallas parcel — both positioned for a potential resort project if Texas legalizes casino gambling.
LVS is actively pursuing a destination-resort casino in North Texas, despite pushback from state political leaders.
The company is also eyeing expansion in Singapore and Macau, and has flagged interest in the UAE as a potential future market if more gaming licenses are issued there.
Strong Numbers Heading Into the Transition
LVS posted a solid Q4. EPS came in at $0.85, beating the $0.77 consensus estimate. Revenue hit $3.65 billion, well above the $3.33 billion analysts expected — and up 26% from the same quarter a year earlier.
Return on equity was 91.40%, and the net margin was 12.50%. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.60 for the current year.
The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30, paid on February 18. That puts the annualized dividend at $1.20, with a yield of around 2.1%. The payout ratio currently sits at 51.28%.
LVS opened at $56.33 on Tuesday, with a 52-week range of $30.18 to $70.45. The stock is down 13.4% year-to-date. Its 50-day moving average is $59.60, and the 200-day is $58.94.
Analyst Views and Institutional Activity
The analyst picture is mostly positive. Jefferies cut its price target from $78 to $72 but kept a “buy” rating. HSBC raised its target from $67.50 to $73.00, also with a “buy.” Citigroup bumped its target to $76.75. Barclays set a target of $64.00. Zacks moved the stock from “strong-buy” to “hold” in December. The current consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $68.55.
Institutional interest has picked up. TD Asset Management raised its LVS position by 18.3% in Q3, now holding 182,352 shares worth about $9.81 million. Several smaller funds also initiated or added to positions during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 39.16% of the stock.
On the insider side, the activity has been the other direction. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2.61 million shares totaling $174.5 million. That includes a 1.2 million-share sale by Goldstein at an average of $66.68 per share, and a separate 77,991-share sale by Miriam Adelson at $67.56.
The market cap currently stands at $37.85 billion, with a PE ratio of 24.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.
