International Game Technology Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 3,243 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 65% compared to the typical volume of 1,965 call options.

International Game Technology Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of International Game Technology stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.76. 184,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,844. International Game Technology has a twelve month low of $18.90 and a twelve month high of $33.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.17. International Game Technology had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. International Game Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that International Game Technology will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Game Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 63.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,751,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170,813 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in International Game Technology by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,193,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129,559 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Game Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,011,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its stake in International Game Technology by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 4,290,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in International Game Technology by 6.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,871,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,368,000 after buying an additional 838,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of International Game Technology from $40.00 to $33.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Game Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of International Game Technology in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

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.