Denali Advisors LLC Acquires 859 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 647.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,025,526 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $104,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,370 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 25.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,075,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,682,000 after acquiring an additional 821,634 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,162.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 812,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,820,000 after acquiring an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,057,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GLPI. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.15.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,222 shares of company stock worth $1,873,547. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $49.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The company has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its 200 day moving average is $49.77.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.