Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Receives $52.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.50.

A number of research firms have issued reports on GLPI. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $45.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,131,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 7.41 and a current ratio of 7.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.20. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12-month low of $43.54 and a 12-month high of $52.45. The stock has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.94.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 109.75%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.31, for a total value of $78,896.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,283,580.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.00 per share, with a total value of $112,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.31, for a total value of $78,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,710 shares in the company, valued at $7,283,580.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,614 shares of company stock worth $2,621,353 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $627,204,000 after buying an additional 3,684,553 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth $141,537,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,793 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,566 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 811.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,349,554 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,218,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,605,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,697 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.