In this article, we will discuss the 5 Best Gambling Stocks To Buy Now. If you want to read our analysis of the gambling industry, you can head on to the 16 Best Gambling Stocks To Buy Now.
5. International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) is a diverse company having its headquarters in London, England, providing users with entertainment and gaming experiences ranging from lotteries and gaming machines to sports betting and digital gaming. International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) has operations in more than 100 countries worldwide.
On September 20, 2022, International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) signed a 15-year contract with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Under the contract, International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) will provide its self-serving lottery terminals to the company. This will be the first time that lottery players in Ontario will have access to self-serving technology.
As per Insider Monkey database, 29 hedge funds remained bullish on International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) at the end of the third quarter.
Here is what Palm Harbour Capital has to say about International Game Technology PLC (NYSE:IGT) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
The second largest contributor was International Game Technology, the ItalianAmerican lottery and slot machine company, which we introduced in our first quarter 2020 letter and which contributed 78 basis points to performance. Early in the quarter, IGT’s main competitor, the highly levered Scientific Games, entered into a definitive agreement to sell its lottery business to Brookfield Business Partners for total consideration of $6.1 billion in cash and contingent payout. At $471 million last twelve months EBITDA (admittedly COVID affected, excluding unallocated central costs), Scientific Games lottery business was sold at trailing 13.0x. Scientific Games exited the lottery business to optimize the portfolio and aggressively de-lever its balance sheet. We believe IGT’s lottery business to be much higher quality and certainly larger. If we were to use a similar metric for IGT, including all corporate costs but excluding Gaming and Digital and Betting, we would have around 90% upside. We are willing to bet the Gaming and fast growing Digital and Betting segments are worth something as well. It seems the sell-side willfully ignores this transaction and sticks with their 7-8x EV/EBITDA valuation.
The company reported third quarter earnings with sales up by 21% year on year, EBIT up by 144% and leverage down to 3.8x from 6.4x at year-end 2020. Total Adjusted EBITDA improved by 42% with margin gaining 618 basis points. Following the recovery, management reinstated the dividend of $0.20 per share… (Click here to see the full text)
