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

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 8,015 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 217% compared to the typical volume of 2,531 call options.

International Game Technology Stock Performance

NYSE:IGT traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.43. The stock had a trading volume of 190,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,066. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 1.91. International Game Technology has a 52 week low of $16.83 and a 52 week high of $27.69.

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 business had revenue of $587.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Game Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IGT. Solel Partners LP acquired a new position in International Game Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,478,000. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of International Game Technology during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,053,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in International Game Technology by 17.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,743,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169,999 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in International Game Technology by 75.5% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,313,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,343,000 after purchasing an additional 995,570 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in International Game Technology by 80.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,202,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,616,000 after purchasing an additional 537,330 shares during the period. 44.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Game Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

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.