Short Interest in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Declines By 5.5%

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,270,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 631,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 7.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com cut Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Itron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.67.

Itron Trading Down 0.4 %

ITRI traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $106.81. 615,860 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 525,407. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $113.07.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $609.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.25 million. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. Itron’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,389,326.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,776 shares of company stock worth $584,721 over the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Itron by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Itron by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Itron by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Itron by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its position in Itron by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 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.