Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock opened at $47.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.46 and a 200-day moving average of $48.88. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.86 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $57,412.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,673,950.90. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. Company insiders own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.63.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of 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.