Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $53.96 Consensus PT from Analysts

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.96.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.5 %

GLPI stock opened at $50.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.75. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.