Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.11.

GLPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,660,329.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at about $779,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 502,795 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,731,000 after buying an additional 21,556 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 37,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 54,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $51.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a current ratio of 5.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

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.