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Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Stock up 42% in a Year: More Upside Left?

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Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS - Free Report) is poised to benefit from the strong business model, revenue diversification efforts and sales-building initiatives. Also, the emphasis on expansion in the Singapore market bodes well.

In the past year, shares of Las Vegas Sands have surged 42.1% against the industry’s fall of 3.9%. An upward revision in earnings estimates for 2023 reflects analysts’ optimism regarding the company’s growth potential. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2023 earnings has moved up 35.6% to $1.41 per share.

Factors Likely to Drive Growth

Las Vegas Sands is optimistic about Macao’s recovery. During the fourth quarter, the company reported significant improvement in property visitation, gaming volumes, retail sales and hotel occupancy in the Macao region. The region appeared resilient owing to strong customer demand and robust spending at the premium mass level from the gaming and retail perspective. With the easing of restrictions and recovery in travel and tourism, the company anticipates generating strong positive cash flows from the region in the days ahead. The company remains optimistic on investments concerning, The Londoner and Four Seasons.

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Las Vegas Sands’ diversification efforts in Macao are quite encouraging. The company has invested more than $13 billion in Macao since 2004, consistently contributing to Macao's diversification and appeal as a business and leisure tourism destination. The company announced that it would proceed with its $2.2-billion investment to strengthen its position in Macao.

Backed by these investments, Las Vegas Sands aims to capitalize on the likely structural growth in Macao in the coming years to stay ahead of the curve regarding the quality and scale of its product and amenities. The company anticipates the projects to boost its strategic position and competitiveness across multiple segments, enabling growth in its retail business and meetings, incentive, convention and exhibitions (MICE) space.

The company is of the opinion that growth in the Chinese outbound tourism market, the introduction of new transportation infrastructure and the continued increase in hotel room inventory in Macao and neighboring Hengqin Island will likely drive visitation in the upcoming periods.

Las Vegas Sands is quite confident about its growth opportunity in Singapore. Despite the coronavirus crisis, the company announced that it would continue to invest in the expansion of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, to reinforce its dominant position in the region. We believe Marina Bay Sands is ideally positioned in Singapore to cater to business and leisure visitors.

During fourth-quarter 2022, the company reported accelerated recovery in its Singapore business backed by improvement in airlift activities and relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions in the region. It stated that EBITDA and gaming volumes had reached 2019 levels. The company emphasized on increasing its investment in the Singapore market and boosting offerings throughout 2023. It anticipates demand in Singapore to be robust after travel and tourism spending return to normal.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Las Vegas Sands’ currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN - Free Report) , Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (HGV - Free Report) and Crocs, Inc. (CROX - Free Report) .

Wynn Resorts sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 0.6%, on average. The stock has increased 36.3% in the past year.  

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WYNN’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 42% and 119.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s estimated levels.  

Hilton Grand Vacations currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. HGV has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.1%, on average. Shares of HGV have declined 16.9% in the past year.  

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HGV’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 7.1% and 10.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

Crocs carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.8%, on average. Shares of Crocs have increased 47.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CROX’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 12.5% and 2.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

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