Sophron Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 21,397 Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

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

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $476,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 38,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 16,058 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position 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 valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 98,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,763,000 after buying an additional 46,187 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total transaction of $170,723.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,504,817.60. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI stock opened at $47.61 on Monday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.86 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.90. The company has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. 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 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. Finally, Wedbush set a $55.00 price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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