Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS): Ex-Dividend Is In 3 Days

Important news for shareholders and potential investors in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS): The dividend payment of US$0.77 per share will be distributed to shareholders on 28 March 2019, and the stock will begin trading ex-dividend at an earlier date, 19 March 2019. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I examine Las Vegas Sands's latest financial data to analyse its dividend characteristics.

View our latest analysis for Las Vegas Sands

5 checks you should use to assess a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers?
• Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
• Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
• Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?

How well does Las Vegas Sands fit our criteria?

The company currently pays out 98% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is not sufficiently covered by its earnings. However, going forward, analysts expect LVS's payout to fall into a more sustainable range of 86% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of 5.4%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to $3.16, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.

When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it's dividend stocks and their constant income stream. Unfortunately, it is really too early to view Las Vegas Sands as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 7 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.

In terms of its peers, Las Vegas Sands has a yield of 5.2%, which is high for Hospitality stocks.

Next Steps:

Whilst there are few things you may like about Las Vegas Sands from a dividend stock perspective, the truth is that overall it probably is not the best choice for a dividend investor. However, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still offer some interesting investment opportunities. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. Below, I've compiled three important aspects you should look at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for LVS’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for LVS’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is LVS worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether LVS is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.