Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Raises Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. by 146.5% in the first quarter, now holding 50,818 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, representing a 6.8% yield, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.76.
• GLPI's earnings report revealed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $0.96 compared to the expected $0.97, although revenue increased 3.8% year-over-year.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 146.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 30,206 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $2,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GLPI. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 36,869 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the first quarter worth about $217,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 604,875 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,788,000 after buying an additional 16,617 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 210.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 989 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.16.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.5%

GLPI opened at $45.81 on Thursday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 7.39 and a quick ratio of 7.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.02.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.58, for a total value of $186,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 136,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,379,270.74. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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