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 on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 8,015 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 217% compared to the average daily volume of 2,531 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

International Game Technology Price Performance

IGT opened at $17.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. International Game Technology has a 12-month low of $16.83 and a 12-month high of $27.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.51.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $587.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.50 million. International Game Technology had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 4.17%. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that International Game Technology will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IGT. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new stake in International Game Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in International Game Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 26.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the second quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 99.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the period. 44.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.