International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.60.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

International Game Technology Stock Down 0.6 %

IGT opened at $17.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83 and a beta of 1.92. International Game Technology has a twelve month low of $16.83 and a twelve month high of $27.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.36. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $587.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.50 million. International Game Technology had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 4.17%. International Game Technology’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Game Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Game Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IGT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in International Game Technology by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of International Game Technology by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 291,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,212,000 after buying an additional 96,019 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 19,247 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in International Game Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at about $645,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in International Game Technology by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,103,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,800,000 after acquiring an additional 21,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.