Investors Buy High Volume of International Game Technology Put Options (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 11,673 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 318% compared to the typical volume of 2,792 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IGT. StockNews.com downgraded International Game Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on International Game Technology from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

Institutional Trading of International Game Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IGT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Game Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,616,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in International Game Technology by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,927,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,978,000 after buying an additional 1,267,625 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in International Game Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,453,000. Beryl Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in International Game Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,213,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in International Game Technology by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,578,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,495,000 after buying an additional 787,543 shares in the last quarter. 44.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Game Technology Stock Performance

IGT stock opened at $16.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.16. International Game Technology has a 1-year low of $16.42 and a 1-year high of $24.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 1.86.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $651.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.84 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

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.