Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $59.00 and last traded at $58.9990, with a volume of 28256 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ITRN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Up 1.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company had revenue of $93.50 million during the quarter.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 206.19%.

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 11,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Four Tree Island Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 60,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.