Norges Bank Takes Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, buying 3.75 million shares valued at about $167.7 million, equal to roughly 1.33% of the REIT.
• Other institutional investors also made small additions, and 91.14% of GLPI shares are held by hedge funds and other institutions, highlighting heavy institutional ownership.
• Wall Street sentiment is moderately positive: analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $52.89, while GLPI recently reported earnings and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share for a 7.1% yield.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,753,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $167,743,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.33% of Gaming and Leisure Properties at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial River Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 10,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 63,319 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 27,307 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 64,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.89.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $46.08 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 6.29 and a current ratio of 6.29. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.17 and a fifty-two week high of $49.95.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $419.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.15 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 55.56%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Gaming and Leisure Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.05%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc NASDAQ: GLPI is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and management of gaming and entertainment properties. Established in 2013 as a spin-off from Penn National Gaming, the company was designed to acquire and hold real estate assets associated with casinos, racetracks and other gaming facilities, while leasing those assets back to operating partners under long-term, triple-net lease agreements.

The company's core activities involve identifying attractive gaming real estate, structuring lease agreements that align tenant incentives with property performance, and actively managing its portfolio to enhance asset value.

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