Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $54.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GLPI. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays started coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $151,170.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,397,252. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 31,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 10.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,958 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $47.86 on Thursday. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.43. The stock has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.29%.

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.