Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ITRN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th.

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRN. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Ituran Location and Control by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the third quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Down 1.5%

Ituran Location and Control stock opened at $55.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.71. Ituran Location and Control has a 52 week low of $32.71 and a 52 week high of $68.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.77.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.05. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.03% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The company had revenue of $102.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.32 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Ituran Location and Control will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.01%.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.