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

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ITRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer raised Itron from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet raised Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Itron in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $94.42 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.96, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Itron has a 1-year low of $50.60 and a 1-year high of $96.73.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $577.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.90 million. Itron had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 4.46%. The company’s revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $144,107.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,743,032.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $1,418,844.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,467 shares of company stock valued at $2,752,520 over the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Itron by 9,150.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

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.