Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Upgrades Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) to “Buy”

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $54.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $49.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on GLPI. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $50.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.64 and a 200 day moving average of $48.32. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,621,957.46. The trade was a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,397,252. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,758 shares of company stock valued at $2,717,922 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 33,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 29.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,850,000 after buying an additional 8,164 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $191,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $312,316,000 after purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.