EdgeRock Capital LLC Takes Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,572,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,711,432,000 after buying an additional 555,332 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,771,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $399,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,397 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,436,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $293,182,000 after purchasing an additional 340,784 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,277,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,442,000 after purchasing an additional 275,026 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,378,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $166,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,765 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.02. 1,218,825 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,427,527. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $51.31. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.91%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

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.