Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $53.96 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.96.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $51.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.74. 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 has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $650,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $617,938,000 after buying an additional 571,720 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 162,484 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $300,395,000 after acquiring an additional 165,024 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after acquiring an additional 211,657 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.