First Trust Advisors LP Increases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 420.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,025,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 828,315 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $45,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $313,242,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth $167,743,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 629.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,483,123 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142,511 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 711.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,369,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,459,000 after buying an additional 2,077,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $81,272,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI opened at $45.17 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.25. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.17 and a 1 year high of $49.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 6.29 and a current ratio of 6.29. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.66.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $419.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.15 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 55.56% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on GLPI shares. UBS Group set a $49.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.32, for a total transaction of $144,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 127,429 shares in the company, valued at $6,157,369.28. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc (NASDAQ: GLPI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and management of gaming and entertainment properties. Established in 2013 as a spin-off from Penn National Gaming, the company was designed to acquire and hold real estate assets associated with casinos, racetracks and other gaming facilities, while leasing those assets back to operating partners under long-term, triple-net lease agreements.

The company’s core activities involve identifying attractive gaming real estate, structuring lease agreements that align tenant incentives with property performance, and actively managing its portfolio to enhance asset value.