International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) Short Interest Update

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the April 30th total of 4,560,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Trading of International Game Technology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Game Technology by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Game Technology by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of International Game Technology by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in International Game Technology by 61.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of International Game Technology in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of International Game Technology in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded International Game Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on International Game Technology from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus downgraded International Game Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Game Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.25.

International Game Technology Price Performance

IGT stock opened at $14.57 on Thursday. International Game Technology has a 1 year low of $13.81 and a 1 year high of $24.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.09.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $583.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $630.30 million. International Game Technology had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Game Technology will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. International Game Technology’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

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.