Brokerages Set Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target at $52.09

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.91.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GLPI shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $43.20 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $51.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.79. The company has a quick ratio of 6.47, a current ratio of 6.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.95.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $376.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.44 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 16.79% and a net margin of 50.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.00 per share, with a total value of $112,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,684,553 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,537,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 78.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,404,000 after buying an additional 1,278,566 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,378,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $166,747,000 after buying an additional 1,195,765 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,771,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $399,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

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.