Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.18.

GLPI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,621,957.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 27.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 309,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,276,000 after acquiring an additional 66,601 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,396,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,172,000 after purchasing an additional 21,667 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth about $3,165,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 72.5% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 24,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 10,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $49.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.09 and its 200 day moving average is $47.45.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

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.