Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, a drop of 8.9% from the January 15th total of 4,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.4 %

GLPI traded down $0.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $48.61. 1,105,286 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,372. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.77. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total value of $870,279.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 54,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,674,516. The trade was a 24.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,222 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,947. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 74,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 46.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 580,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,857,000 after purchasing an additional 185,348 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,726,000 after purchasing an additional 341,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 24.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.