Earnings Preview: Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands LVS will report earnings after the closing bell today at 4:30PM, when it is expected to report quarterly earnings of 57 cents per share, according to analyst consensus. Analysts also expect the company to report $2.47 billion in revenue, up from $2.4 billion in reported revenue in Q3 2011. Shares in the gaming conglomorate are trading far below analysts' mean price target of $57.73, with many analysts holding a buy recommendation on the company. Questions also loom over a possible dividend payout due to the company's growing cash reserves. The company's cash and cash equivalent holdings grew by over $472 million in Q3 2011, thanks to consistent growth in the firm's Asian operations, which has led analysts at Morgan Stanley to predict a dividend payout on the horizon for the company. Call options on the firm were at a three-year low today, as investors await the firm's reports on Macau operations. Some analysts are expecting a slowdown in the Chinese gaming mecca to impact the company's botto line, as it leads the charge to find growing gaming revenue streams outside of Las Vegas, where a protracted slowdown is expected.