Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.11.

GLPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.8% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.2% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 19,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 90,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $51.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 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. The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.74.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

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.