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

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 14,737 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 584% compared to the average daily volume of 2,154 put options.

International Game Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IGT traded down $0.38 on Friday, reaching $19.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,505,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 2.36. International Game Technology has a 52-week low of $18.90 and a 52-week high of $28.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.92. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 1.96.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $587.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Game Technology will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. International Game Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on IGT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of International Game Technology in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of International Game Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Game Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 63.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,751,703 shares of the company's stock worth $242,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170,813 shares during the last quarter. Solel Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of International Game Technology in the second quarter valued at $43,478,000. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of International Game Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,053,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 17.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,743,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in International Game Technology by 75.5% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,313,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,343,000 after purchasing an additional 995,570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.33% of the company's stock.

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.