Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.92.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ITRI shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Itron in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $121.23 on Wednesday. Itron has a 52-week low of $62.74 and a 52-week high of $124.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.67 and a 200 day moving average of $104.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.46.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,169. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $3,931,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,519,083.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,517,947 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITRI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Itron by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Itron by 26.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Itron by 46.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.