Wesbanco Bank Inc. Decreases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,910,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $134,074,000 after acquiring an additional 781,906 shares during the period. DigitalBridge Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,936,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,564,000 after purchasing an additional 350,250 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 126.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 454,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,131,000 after purchasing an additional 253,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,489,160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,886,000 after purchasing an additional 211,709 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,459,298.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 in the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GLPI. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.18.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI opened at $51.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.20. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. 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, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.