BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 203,689 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 128.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 362,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 203,689 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $18,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GLPI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.32.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $51.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.65. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. 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 (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 106.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total value of $345,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 149,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,513,968. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.