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

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GLPI shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays began coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total value of $345,351.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 149,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,513,968. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,016 shares of company stock valued at $741,943 over the last ninety days. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3,191.3% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $46.58 on Thursday. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.