Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Given Overweight Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $109.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $103.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ITRI. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Itron from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James downgraded Itron from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Itron from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $103.60.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI stock traded up $7.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.01. 1,235,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 473,020. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $107.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Itron will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 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 value of $144,107.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,743,032.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Itron news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $144,107.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,743,032.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Itron by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,668,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $343,372,000 after purchasing an additional 142,564 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Itron by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,681,573 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $126,978,000 after buying an additional 51,874 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Itron by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 804,648 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $60,759,000 after buying an additional 110,849 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Itron by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 635,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,504,000 after acquiring an additional 11,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Itron by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 518,157 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,126,000 after acquiring an additional 15,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% 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.