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

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.80.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ITRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Itron Trading Up 1.1 %

Itron stock opened at $92.52 on Tuesday. Itron has a 52 week low of $50.60 and a 52 week high of $96.73. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.77.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $577.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.90 million. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Itron will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,743,032.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 1,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $117,577.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,141 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,827.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,743,032.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Itron by 240.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 429 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Itron by 9,150.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.