Financial Advocates Investment Management Makes New Investment in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,501,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,473,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 45,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 23,722 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,944,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $45.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.72. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 6.47, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $50.59.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.44 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GLPI shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.75 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,050,825. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% 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.