Analyzing Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) and Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) and Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Veralto and Itron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veralto	N/A	N/A	N/A
Itron	2.01%	8.02%	3.94%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.1% of Itron shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Itron shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Veralto and Itron’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Veralto	$4.87 billion	3.55	$845.00 million	N/A	N/A
Itron	$1.80 billion	1.62	-$9.73 million	$0.85	75.41

Veralto has higher revenue and earnings than Itron.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Veralto and Itron, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veralto	0	2	2	0	2.50
Itron	1	5	6	0	2.42

Veralto currently has a consensus price target of $89.75, suggesting a potential upside of 27.70%. Itron has a consensus price target of $69.60, suggesting a potential upside of 8.58%. Given Veralto’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Veralto is more favorable than Itron.

Summary

Itron beats Veralto on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Veralto

Veralto Corporation provides water supply services. The company offers water treatment solutions that sources water to the consumers and back into the water cycle. It also provides printers, instruments, software, services, and consumables for color and appearance management, packaging design and quality management, packaging converting, printing, marking and coding, and traceability applications to food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, and industrial products. Veralto Corporation was formerly known as DH EAS Holding Corp. and changed its name to Veralto Corporation on February 22, 2023. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Veralto Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation.

About Itron

Itron, Inc., a technology and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage operations in the energy, water, and smart city space worldwide. It operates through three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing. The Networked Solutions segment provides a combination of communicating devices, such as smart meters, modules, endpoints, and sensors; network infrastructure; and associated application software for acquiring and transporting application-specific data. The Outcomes segment offers value-added, enhanced software and services for managing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data to enhance decision making, maximize operational profitability, drive resource efficiency, and deliver results for consumers, utilities, and smart cities. In addition, it offers implementation, project management, installation, consulting, and post-sale maintenance support services, as well as cloud and software-as-a-service; and extended or customer-specific warranties. It offers its products and services under the Itron brand. The company markets its products directly through its sales force, as well as through indirect sales force consisting of distributors, agents, partners, and meter manufacturer representatives to utilities and municipalities. Itron, Inc. was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington.