Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI Holdings Reduced by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 639,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 17,963 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $24,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth $1,596,811,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,477,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $600,144,000 after acquiring an additional 305,154 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 21.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,378,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $194,270,000 after acquiring an additional 781,198 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,160,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $184,614,000 after acquiring an additional 67,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter valued at $151,300,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.1%

GLPI stock opened at $39.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 5.38 and a current ratio of 5.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.64. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $37.33 and a one year high of $49.95.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 55.71%. The business had revenue of $435.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 100.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director Earl C. Shanks bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.24 per share, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 107,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,530,620.16. This trade represents a 10.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.36.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLPI) is a real estate investment trust focused on owning properties used by gaming and leisure businesses. The company leases its properties to casino operators, which generally manage the gaming and hospitality operations. GLPI was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Penn National Gaming, now known as PENN Entertainment. Its portfolio includes casino and related entertainment properties in multiple U.S. states, and the company grows through property acquisitions, lease arrangements and development financing.