Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Short Interest Update

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decline of 10.8% from the March 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 413,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $91.44 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.93. Itron has a twelve month low of $50.60 and a twelve month high of $96.73.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $577.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Itron’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Itron will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $1,418,844.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $28,866.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $547,687.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520 over the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 61.5% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Itron by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 31,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Itron by 1.4% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Itron by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ITRI. TheStreet raised shares of Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Itron from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Itron from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.60.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.