Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

GLPI has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.75 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.33.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $44.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $50.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 6.47 and a quick ratio of 6.47.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.26). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 16.79% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,572,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,711,432,000 after purchasing an additional 555,332 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,553 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,511,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $469,394,000 after purchasing an additional 282,828 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,921,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $440,259,000 after purchasing an additional 150,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,436,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $293,182,000 after purchasing an additional 340,784 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.