Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.60.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ITRI. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Itron from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded Itron from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Itron news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,467 shares of company stock valued at $2,752,520. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Itron Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ITRI opened at $89.68 on Friday. Itron has a 52 week low of $50.60 and a 52 week high of $96.73. 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 market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.80.

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

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.