Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.68.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price 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. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank dropped 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. Finally, Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.70 on Monday. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 4.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.41% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The business 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. Gaming and Leisure Properties's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.2% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 5,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 64.2% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.6% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.8% in the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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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