Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ITRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Itron from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Itron from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $109.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.64.

Itron Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ ITRI traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,957,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,514. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.07.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The firm had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $54,543.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,930,852.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $54,543.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,930,852.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,775 shares of company stock worth $192,613 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Itron by 61.5% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.