Sophron Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,030,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Dodge & Cox increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $650,094,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797,299 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,873,006 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $138,364,000 after purchasing an additional 933,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,679,000 after purchasing an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.4%

GLPI traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,183,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,569. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.86 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The business's fifty day moving average price is $48.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.80. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is presently 111.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total value of $170,723.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares in the company, valued at $2,504,817.60. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,153,961. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.63.

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.