Mizuho Raises Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target to $53.00

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) had its target price raised by Mizuho from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.67% from the stock’s previous close.

GLPI has been the topic of a number of other reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $47.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.66. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. 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 capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.