Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target to $54.00

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $56.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GLPI. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.70.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $47.20. 1,617,798 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,710. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.28 and a 200 day moving average of $49.22. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12 month low of $42.86 and a 12 month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total value of $170,723.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,504,817.60. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961 in the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,142,000 after acquiring an additional 505,382 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 84.4% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 6,665 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 741,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,131,000 after buying an additional 11,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

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.