Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.76 (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% per year over the last three years. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a payout ratio of 99.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Gaming and Leisure Properties to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 76.4%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,005,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,807. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.13 and a 200 day moving average of $49.77.

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Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The company had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,222 shares of company stock worth $1,873,547. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.15.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.