Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,764,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 525,317 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $347,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 15,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $167,000. Danske Bank A S increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 279,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,984 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $342,000. Finally, Certuity LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI opened at $47.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.68. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.17 and a fifty-two week high of $49.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.51. The company has a quick ratio of 6.29, a current ratio of 6.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $419.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.15 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 55.56% and a return on equity of 18.06%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Gaming and Leisure Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.080-4.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GLPI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 9,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $480,592.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,291,815.04. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 16,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $811,276.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 257,874 shares in the company, valued at $12,390,845.70. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,552,938 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.11% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.