Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ITRI. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Itron from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.64.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI opened at $98.96 on Friday. Itron has a 12-month low of $56.11 and a 12-month high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.83 and a 200-day moving average of $89.20.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $603.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Itron will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 206,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,237.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,444,965.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,775 shares of company stock valued at $192,613. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Itron by 61.5% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Itron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

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.