International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) Short Interest Down 11.3% in July

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, a decline of 11.3% from the July 15th total of 3,110,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of International Game Technology in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of International Game Technology from $40.00 to $33.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Game Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Game Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IGT. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 202,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,137,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its position in International Game Technology by 5.1% during the second quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 13,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in International Game Technology by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in International Game Technology by 10.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of International Game Technology by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

International Game Technology Stock Up 0.1 %

IGT stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.84. 485,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,234,350. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.00 and its 200-day moving average is $21.84. International Game Technology has a 12 month low of $18.90 and a 12 month high of $33.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. International Game Technology had a return on equity of 19.95% and a net margin of 4.89%. International Game Technology’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

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.