Robert W. Baird Boosts Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Price Target to $123.00

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) had its price objective increased by Robert W. Baird from $115.00 to $123.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

ITRI has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens increased their price target on Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Itron from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Itron has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded down $3.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.39. 878,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,916. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 3.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.45. Itron has a 1-year low of $56.11 and a 1-year high of $113.07.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $609.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Itron will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Itron news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $54,543.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,930,852.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,775 shares of company stock worth $192,613 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,832 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Itron by 1,331.3% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 200,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,832,000 after purchasing an additional 186,399 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its holdings in Itron by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 43,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the 2nd quarter worth about $713,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Itron by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 171,086 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,931,000 after buying an additional 54,791 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.