Analysts Set Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Price Target at $53.93

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.15.

GLPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock opened at $49.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,222 shares of company stock worth $1,873,547 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3,191.3% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.