Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 13,400 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. sold 13,400 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. in the first quarter, reducing its stake by 10.9% and leaving it with 110,000 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock, with some raising price targets to $55.00 while others have lowered targets to around $48.00, reflecting diverse opinions on its performance, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Gaming and Leisure Properties recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.78, yielding around 6.8%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 120.93%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,400 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GLPI. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 5,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 64.2% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven 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 $53.16.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.54, for a total value of $139,620.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 133,953 shares in the company, valued at $6,234,172.62. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ GLPI traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 160,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,440. The company has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 7.39, a current ratio of 7.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $46.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.01). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 46.32% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $394.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $397.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 120.93%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.