Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,480,000 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the August 31st total of 4,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.14. 1,148,250 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,331,315. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.79. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 5.94%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,621,957.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $627,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,553 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,511,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $469,394,000 after purchasing an additional 282,828 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,489,160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $252,886,000 after purchasing an additional 211,709 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $185,564,000 after purchasing an additional 350,250 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.7% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 781,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GLPI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.18.

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.