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

Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $61.6820, with a volume of 14017 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ITRN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Loop Capital set a $57.00 price target on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.79.

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

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. This is an increase from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ibex Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ibex Investors LLC now owns 896,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,016,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 3.8% during the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 891,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,681,000 after acquiring an additional 33,000 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,218,000 after acquiring an additional 486,331 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 528,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,716,000 after acquiring an additional 34,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 410,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

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.