Gallacher Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 166.2% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.00 per share, with a total value of $112,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.20. 1,088,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,385. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.74. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $51.43. The firm has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 6.47, a current ratio of 6.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.26). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GLPI. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.91.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.