Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITRN. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRN opened at $55.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.26. Ituran Location and Control has a 1-year low of $32.71 and a 1-year high of $68.30.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.03% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The firm had revenue of $102.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ituran Location and Control will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 24th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,218,000 after buying an additional 486,331 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after acquiring an additional 91,509 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 68,222 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 65,502 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 125,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 52,150 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.