Short Interest in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Expands By 11.4%

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the July 15th total of 2,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 642,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Itron Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ITRI traded up $1.27 on Monday, reaching $98.34. The stock had a trading volume of 69,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,978. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.45. 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 50-day simple moving average of $101.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.97. Itron has a 12-month low of $56.11 and a 12-month high of $113.07.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $599.25 million. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Itron will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ITRI shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Itron from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $95,043.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,847 shares in the company, valued at $7,930,852.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,542 shares of company stock worth $166,898. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the 1st quarter worth $401,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the fourth quarter worth $24,504,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 86.2% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 603,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,760,000 after acquiring an additional 279,629 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the second quarter worth $22,612,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the second quarter worth $18,758,000. 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.