Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Reaches New 52-Week High at $52.60

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $52.60 and last traded at $52.55, with a volume of 149505 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GLPI. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. JMP Securities upped their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.23. The company has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.