Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Hits New 52-Week High at $52.35

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.35 and last traded at $52.28, with a volume of 99321 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.96. The company has a market capitalization of $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,621,957.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.