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

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $104.64.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ITRI. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th.

Itron Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ITRI opened at $98.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.90. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $111.00.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $603.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Itron will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at $22,444,965.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,775 shares of company stock valued at $192,613 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITRI. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.