International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) Short Interest Up 21.1% in May

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of 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. Argus downgraded International Game Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of International Game Technology in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered International Game Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of International Game Technology in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IGT. Barclays PLC lifted 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 worth $6,212,000 after acquiring an additional 96,019 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in International Game Technology in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in International Game Technology by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,749 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in International Game Technology by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 180,285 shares of the company's stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its position in International Game Technology by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 640,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,318,000 after buying an additional 10,901 shares during the period. 44.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Game Technology Price Performance

Shares of IGT traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $14.59. 2,402,219 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,300,931. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $15.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.09. International Game Technology has a 12 month low of $13.81 and a 12 month high of $24.13.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $583.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $630.30 million. International Game Technology had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that International Game Technology will post 1.24 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. International Game Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.