Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in VICI Properties Inc. $VICI

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,589,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 844,429 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.02% of VICI Properties worth $704,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of VICI Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in VICI Properties during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in VICI Properties by 489.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 872 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of VICI Properties in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VICI Properties in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 97.71% of the company’s stock.

VICI Properties Stock Down 0.1%

VICI opened at $28.07 on Friday. VICI Properties Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.48 and a 12 month high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.70. The company has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.01. VICI Properties had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 70.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that VICI Properties Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

VICI Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. VICI Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VICI. Scotiabank lowered shares of VICI Properties from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $36.00) on shares of VICI Properties in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of VICI Properties from $37.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on VICI Properties from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of VICI Properties in a report on Monday, December 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.85.

About VICI Properties

VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in experiential real estate, with a primary focus on gaming, hospitality and entertainment assets. The company acquires, owns and manages a portfolio of destination properties and leases those assets to operators under long-term agreements, generating rental income and partnering on property development and capital projects. VICI was formed in connection with the restructuring of Caesars Entertainment and has since grown through acquisitions and strategic transactions to expand its footprint in the gaming and leisure sector.

The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S.