Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $52.18 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.54.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GLPI. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total value of $345,351.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 149,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,513,968. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,758 shares of company stock worth $2,717,922. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 90,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $49.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.74 and its 200 day moving average is $48.15.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. 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.