Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,800,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the March 31st total of 5,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 2,095 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% during the first quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 63,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.1% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 206,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,528,000 after acquiring an additional 13,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.73. 1,322,593 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,409,978. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.84. The company has a current ratio of 6.47, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.94. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.31.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $376.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.44 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 16.79% and a net margin of 50.05%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is 112.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.91.

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.

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