Barclays Cuts Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target to $53.00

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GLPI. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.04.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $50.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.80. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,161 shares of company stock worth $2,425,521. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 364,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,728,000 after buying an additional 7,077 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 116,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,000,000 after buying an additional 10,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 37.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 211,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,862,000 after buying an additional 57,511 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.