Gaming and Amusement Establishments Included in S&P MidCap 400 Listing
Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) just got an upgrade as Standard & Poor's (S&P) announced it will be moving to the S&P MidCap 400 Index.
This gaming real estate investment trust (REIT) is one of ten stocks being promoted from the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Mid-cap equities are typically considered those with a market value between $2 billion and $10 billion, and GLPI's current market cap of $12.45 billion is definitely above this range.
S&P Dow Jones Indices explained, "The changes ensure each index is more representative of its market capitalization range. All companies being added to the S&P MidCap 400 are more representative of the mid-cap market space, and all companies being added to the S&P SmallCap 600 are more representative of the small-cap market space."
GLPI will join the mid-cap index before the U.S. stock market opens on Monday, September 18.
What Does This Mean for GLPI Investors?
Being included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index means GLPI shares are now on the radar for a bigger group of institutional investors.
All active fund managers who use this index as their benchmark will have to buy shares in this slot machine maker, as will passive funds, including ETFs that track the index. Some notable examples of these ETFs include SPDR S&P MIDCAP 400 ETF Trust ($19.74 billion in assets under management), iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF ($74.67 billion), and Vanguard S&P MidCap 400 ETF ($1.7 billion) as of July 31.
Another development in the world of gaming stocks - private equity giant Blackstone, which owns the real estate of several popular Las Vegas Strip casino resorts, is joining the S&P 500 Index.
GLPI's Eventful Week
The inclusion in the S&P MidCap 400 Index followed a busy week for GLPI. On Tuesday, the REIT announced it's buying the real estate associated with the Hard Rock Casino development in Rockford, Illinois for $100 million.
Then, on Thursday, it revealed it's raising its quarterly dividend by a penny a share to 73 cents. This is the second payout increase this year for the Pennsylvania-based REIT. GLPI's dividend yield currently stands at 6.07%, and shares have lost 8.54% of their value year-to-date.
"The dividend is payable on September 29, 2023 to shareholders of record on September 15, 2023. The third quarter 2022 cash dividend was $0.705 per share of the Companyโs common stock," the company said in a statement.
