National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 36,074 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.08% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $10,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 166.2% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $44.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.95. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $51.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 6.47 and a quick ratio of 6.47.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released 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). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $376.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is presently 112.18%.

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.