Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) COO Brandon John Moore Sells 3,982 Shares

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 0.5 %

GLPI stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 838,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.49. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The business had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $385.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.38%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $624,356,000 after purchasing an additional 162,484 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $312,316,000 after purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $284,726,000 after purchasing an additional 341,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,564,000 after purchasing an additional 350,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays began coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.53 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.00.

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.