Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Itron to “buy” from “hold.” Overall analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with nine Buy, four Hold, and one Sell rating, and a consensus price target of $129.20.
• Itron’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.94 versus the $1.56 estimate and revenue of $599.33 million. Revenue increased 3% year over year, while analysts expect full-year EPS of $6.78.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.19%, with several major investors establishing or expanding positions. Insiders sold 17,903 shares worth approximately $1.75 million over the past three months, including sales conducted for tax withholding and under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Itron from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Itron in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Itron from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.20.

Itron Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $95.82 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Itron has a 1 year low of $77.77 and a 1 year high of $112.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.32.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.38. Itron had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $599.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Itron will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 331 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.79, for a total transaction of $32,699.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,953.57. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Justin Patrick sold 10,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.36, for a total value of $994,045.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 22,065 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,248.40. This represents a 31.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 17,903 shares of company stock worth $1,753,521 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Itron during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,466,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Itron during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,108,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Itron by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,536,081 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $137,659,000 after acquiring an additional 265,039 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,755,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,220,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc is a technology company that provides solutions to utilities and cities for managing electricity, natural gas, and water resources. Its offerings help organizations measure consumption, collect and analyze data, improve operational efficiency, and support more reliable and sustainable delivery of essential services.

The company's portfolio includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure, communications networks, sensors, data management systems, and utility software.

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