Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on GLPI. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $51.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $43.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.95. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $51.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a current ratio of 6.47.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.26). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 112.18%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 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.