Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 14th

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.76 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a payout ratio of 95.5% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Gaming and Leisure Properties to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.4%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.11 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.14 and its 200 day moving average is $49.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total value of $509,245.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,825.34. This trade represents a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,222 shares of company stock worth $1,624,947 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

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.