Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on ITRI. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Johnson Rice lowered Itron from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Itron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on Itron in a report on Monday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.55.

Itron Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $120.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.37 and a 200 day moving average of $117.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.46. Itron has a twelve month low of $90.11 and a twelve month high of $140.04.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $606.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $610.36 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 11.05%.Itron’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Itron has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.450-1.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.31, for a total value of $48,620.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,601,560.91. This represents a 1.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.31, for a total value of $121,550.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,652.14. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,037 shares of company stock worth $380,566. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 2nd quarter valued at $91,998,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,727,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itron by 129.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 732,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $76,713,000 after purchasing an additional 413,487 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 1,552.7% in the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 300,787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,593,000 after buying an additional 282,587 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,197,000 after buying an additional 214,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

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.