Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Plans $0.76 Quarterly Dividend

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 28th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.76 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties has raised its dividend by an average of 5.8% per year over the last three years. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a dividend payout ratio of 100.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Gaming and Leisure Properties to earn $3.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.0%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $52.23 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.23. The company has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GLPI. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.11.

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.