Sunbelt Securities Inc. Acquires 8,002 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 33.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,002 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,553 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,910,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,074,000 after buying an additional 781,906 shares during the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,936,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,564,000 after acquiring an additional 350,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,511,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $469,394,000 after acquiring an additional 282,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.4 %

GLPI stock opened at $51.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.47 and a 200-day moving average of $46.74.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The firm had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.95 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 in the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.