Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $54.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $49.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI opened at $50.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.49 and a 200-day moving average of $49.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,397,252. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

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.