Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Position Decreased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,684,938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,289 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $86,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter worth about $407,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 667.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,799 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% in the third quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 118,479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,096,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter worth about $134,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 146,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,397,252. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.32.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $51.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is presently 106.29%.

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.