Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.11.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total transaction of $509,245.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,825.34. The trade was a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CKW Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.76. 68,895 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,826. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.