Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target Raised to $57.50

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $53.25 to $57.50 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

GLPI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.32.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $51.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 2.16 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 146,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,397,252. This trade represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The trade was a 10.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,858 shares of company stock worth $1,171,377 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $624,356,000 after acquiring an additional 162,484 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,316,000 after purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,726,000 after purchasing an additional 341,492 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 25.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,075,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,682,000 after buying an additional 821,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

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.