VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases 136,400 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 136,400 additional shares and bringing its total holding to just over 1 million shares valued at about $44.9 million.
• GLPI reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.82 topping estimates and revenue of $419.99 million slightly above expectations; revenue also rose 6.3% year over year.
• The company continues to offer a high dividend yield, paying $0.78 per share quarterly for an annualized dividend of $3.12, which works out to a 6.5% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,003,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 136,400 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.35% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $44,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,905,759 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,766,787,000 after purchasing an additional 899,273 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,745,415 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $594,064,000 after purchasing an additional 333,876 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,764,876 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $347,012,000 after purchasing an additional 525,317 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,107,048 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $191,432,000 after purchasing an additional 147,375 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,525.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,033,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $188,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,785,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.70 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.17 and a 12-month high of $49.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.29, a quick ratio of 6.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GLPI. Barclays increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.50.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total transaction of $189,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 130,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,178,421.73. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 16,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $811,276.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 257,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,390,845.70. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,178 shares of company stock worth $1,552,938. Company insiders own 4.11% of the company's stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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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