Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 11,822 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 741,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 11,822 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.27% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $38,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter valued at about $693,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 63.1% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 51,991 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 20,111 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 539,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,395,000 after buying an additional 55,385 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 522,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,867,000 after buying an additional 51,398 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 6,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,173,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,698. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $50.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.00.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.07%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is 106.29%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,397,252. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GLPI shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Raymond James raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.96.

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.