Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,480,000 shares, a decrease of 8.4% from the August 31st total of 4,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, hitting $51.14. 1,148,250 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,315. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.74. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after buying an additional 3,684,553 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,910,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $134,074,000 after acquiring an additional 781,906 shares during the period. DigitalBridge Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $16,936,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $185,564,000 after purchasing an additional 350,250 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,511,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $469,394,000 after purchasing an additional 282,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GLPI. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.18.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.