Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.60.

ITRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Itron from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Itron from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet raised shares of Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Itron Stock Performance

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $95.75 on Friday. Itron has a 52-week low of $50.97 and a 52-week high of $97.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.37 and a 200-day moving average of $75.78.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $577.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.90 million. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Itron will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $28,866.71. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at $656,321.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $28,866.71. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $144,107.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,743,032.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Itron during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Itron by 61.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Itron by 9,150.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Itron during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Itron during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.