Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) Upgraded 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 research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $54.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $49.00.

GLPI has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $50.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.07. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.98. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.07%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties 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 transaction, the director now owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,397,252. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 741,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,131,000 after buying an additional 11,822 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 13,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 84.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 6,665 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.