First Hawaiian Bank Grows Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 93.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $693,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 63.1% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 51,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 20,111 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 11.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 539,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,395,000 after acquiring an additional 55,385 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 76.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 13,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 10.9% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 522,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,867,000 after acquiring an additional 51,398 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,016 shares of company stock worth $741,943. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $45.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.47. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.