Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)

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

Institutional Trading of International Game Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of International Game Technology by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in International Game Technology by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 12,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in International Game Technology by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. 44.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Game Technology Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of International Game Technology stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.23. The company had a trading volume of 389,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,145,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.36. International Game Technology has a fifty-two week low of $16.13 and a fifty-two week high of $24.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.26 and its 200-day moving average is $18.85. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 1.86.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.22 EPS 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 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.