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

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.67.

ITRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Itron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,169. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,169. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of Itron 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 $51,994.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 $4,515,846. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. raised its holdings in Itron by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 12,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Itron by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 429,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,922,000 after acquiring an additional 6,310 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Itron by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 163.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 22,488 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 13,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Itron by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Down 0.8 %

ITRI stock opened at $104.19 on Friday. Itron has a one year low of $56.11 and a one year high of $113.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.50 and its 200 day moving average is $101.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.47.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $609.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.25 million. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Itron will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

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.