Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 92,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $4,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 78.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 283,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,255,000 after purchasing an additional 125,098 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 478.5% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 32,708 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 276.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 70,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 51,731 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.78 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average of $46.73 and a 200 day moving average of $45.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 6.29 and a quick ratio of 6.29.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.06. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 55.56% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $419.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Gaming and Leisure Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 99.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 9,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $480,592.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,291,815.04. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total transaction of $189,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 130,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,178,421.73. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 30,802 shares of company stock valued at $1,486,821 over the last three months. 4.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.