Analysts Set Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target at $54.11

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, 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 objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.11.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GLPI. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.43. 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 has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total value of $509,245.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,825.34. The trade was a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,155,000 after buying an additional 23,050 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 24,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Aew Capital Management L P boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,679,000 after acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $768,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.