Aurora Investment Counsel Raises Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 1.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.4 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $51.45 on Tuesday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.74. 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 has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.18%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties 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 sale, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 in the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.