Bayforest Capital Ltd Raises Holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 43.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,980 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,215 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Itron were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Itron by 0.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,795 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Itron by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Itron by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Itron by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Itron by 7.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $138.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.68. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.11 and a 52 week high of $140.04. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Itron’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.73, for a total value of $441,589.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,301.45. The trade was a 14.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $559,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,482.40. The trade was a 84.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,905 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,202 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Itron from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their target price on Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.17.

About Itron

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.