Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 689,785 Shares of VICI Properties Inc. $VICI

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE:VICI) by 46.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,166,267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 689,785 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in VICI Properties were worth $70,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in VICI Properties by 489.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in VICI Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of VICI Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of VICI Properties by 32.7% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VICI Properties by 55.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.71% of the company’s stock.

VICI Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:VICI opened at $28.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.00 and its 200 day moving average is $32.08. VICI Properties Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.98 and a fifty-two week high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a current ratio of 3.60.

VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.01. VICI Properties had a net margin of 70.18% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. VICI Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. VICI Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.360-2.370 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that VICI Properties Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

VICI Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from VICI Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 18th. VICI Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VICI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $36.00) on shares of VICI Properties in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on VICI Properties from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of VICI Properties from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of VICI Properties from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of VICI Properties from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VICI Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.38.

VICI Properties Company Profile

VICI Properties Inc is an S&P 500 experiential real estate investment trust that owns one of the largest portfolios of market-leading gaming, hospitality and entertainment destinations, including Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, three of the most iconic entertainment facilities on the Las Vegas Strip.