Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Given New $57.50 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $53.25 to $57.50 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on 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, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.32.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $51.61 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.60. The company has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 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 data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The business had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $345,351.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 149,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,513,968. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.