Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.38 EPS

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.38, Briefing.com reports. Itron had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $599.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Itron’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Itron Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Itron stock opened at $90.50 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.32. Itron has a 12-month low of $77.77 and a 12-month high of $142.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITRI. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $116.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Itron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John Marcolini sold 331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.79, for a total value of $32,699.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,953.57. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 10,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.36, for a total transaction of $994,045.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 22,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,248.40. This represents a 31.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 17,903 shares of company stock valued at $1,753,521 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc is a technology company that provides solutions to utilities and cities for managing electricity, natural gas, and water resources. Its offerings help organizations measure consumption, collect and analyze data, improve operational efficiency, and support more reliable and sustainable delivery of essential services.

The company’s portfolio includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure, communications networks, sensors, data management systems, and utility software.