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

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 8,015 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 217% compared to the typical volume of 2,531 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

International Game Technology Stock Up 1.6 %

IGT stock opened at $17.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 1.91. International Game Technology has a twelve month low of $16.83 and a twelve month high of $27.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85.

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

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Game Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in International Game Technology by 49.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 291,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,212,000 after purchasing an additional 96,019 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 180.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 29,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 19,247 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in International Game Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $645,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in International Game Technology by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,103,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,800,000 after acquiring an additional 21,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 56,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 10,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

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.