Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 11,673 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 318% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,792 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Game Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of International Game Technology from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.25.

International Game Technology Stock Up 1.1 %

IGT stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.65. 472,580 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.20. International Game Technology has a 1-year low of $16.42 and a 1-year high of $24.13.

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

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Game Technology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 7.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 126.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 25,665 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the third quarter valued at $1,209,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the third quarter valued at $500,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 0.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,946,000 after buying an additional 47,442 shares in the last quarter. 44.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.