Stock Traders Buy High Volume of International Game Technology Call Options (NYSE:IGT)

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 20,956 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,078% compared to the average volume of 1,779 call options.

International Game Technology Price Performance

Shares of IGT stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.51. The company had a trading volume of 715,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,123,152. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 1.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.91. International Game Technology has a 52-week low of $18.90 and a 52-week high of $30.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. International Game Technology had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 19.95%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Game Technology will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

International Game Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Game Technology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IGT. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in International Game Technology by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,717,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,495,000 after acquiring an additional 509,722 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Game Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $339,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 9.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in International Game Technology by 16.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in International Game Technology by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IGT. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of International Game Technology in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Game Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.67.

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.