International Game Technology Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 11,656 put options on the company. This is an increase of 327% compared to the average volume of 2,731 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IGT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of International Game Technology from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Game Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

International Game Technology Stock Performance

International Game Technology stock opened at $16.90 on Wednesday. International Game Technology has a fifty-two week low of $16.42 and a fifty-two week high of $27.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.02.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.24). International Game Technology had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $587.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in International Game Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,209,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in International Game Technology by 0.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,946,000 after purchasing an additional 47,442 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 230.0% during the third quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 42,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 29,929 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the third quarter worth approximately $645,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 22.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 56,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 10,193 shares during the period. 44.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Game Technology Company Profile

International Game Technology PLC operates and provides gaming technology products and services in the United States, Canada, Italy, The United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Global Lottery, Global Gaming, and PlayDigital. The company designs, sells, operates, and leases a suite of point-of-sale machines that reconciles lottery funds between the retailer and lottery authority; provides online lottery transaction processing systems; produces instant ticket games; and offers printing services, such as instant ticket marketing plans and graphic design, programming, packaging, shipping, and delivery services, as well as iLottery solutions and services.