Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 4,565 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 53% compared to the average volume of 2,988 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of International Game Technology from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Game Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.25.

International Game Technology Stock Down 1.2 %

International Game Technology stock opened at $16.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 2.31. International Game Technology has a fifty-two week low of $16.12 and a fifty-two week high of $24.13.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.10). International Game Technology had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 4.17%. The firm had revenue of $651.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Game Technology will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Game Technology

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in International Game Technology by 782.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 3,151 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of International Game Technology during the fourth quarter worth $188,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of International Game Technology by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

About International Game Technology

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.