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

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $46.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

GLPI has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group set a $49.00 target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.73.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $38.79 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 12 month low of $38.32 and a 12 month high of $49.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 4.74 and a quick ratio of 4.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 59.01% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The firm had revenue of $430.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gaming and Leisure Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 96.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director Earl C. Shanks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.24 per share, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 107,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,530,620.16. This represents a 10.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 115.2% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 38.2% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 868 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc (NASDAQ: GLPI) is a real estate investment trust that owns, acquires and leases gaming-related properties. Its portfolio primarily consists of casinos and other properties used for gaming, entertainment and hospitality activities.

GLPI generally leases its properties to gaming operators under long-term, triple-net lease agreements. Under these arrangements, tenants typically operate the properties and are responsible for expenses such as maintenance, insurance and property taxes, while GLPI focuses on owning and managing the underlying real estate.

The company was established in 2013 through the spin-off of gaming properties from Penn National Gaming, now known as PENN Entertainment.