Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $52.09 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

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

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $43.20 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.94. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.84.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang acquired 2,500 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,553 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth $141,537,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,566 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,378,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $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% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,771,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $399,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,397 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.