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 research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.96.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GLPI. Barclays reduced their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $50.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.77.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.