Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,085 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITRI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Itron by 85.6% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Itron by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Itron by 26.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Itron by 46.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Itron by 21.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $114.90 on Monday. Itron, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.96 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.63.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.71. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ITRI. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Itron in a report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.92.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total transaction of $90,607.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,968,943.40. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The trade was a 20.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,517,947. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.