Benjamin Edwards Inc. Invests $281,000 in Itron, Inc. $ITRI

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Itron, Inc., acquiring 2,679 shares valued at approximately $281,000 in the first quarter.
• Itron recently reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.33, despite a slight revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year.
• Following various analyst reports, Itron's consensus rating stands at "Moderate Buy"** with an average target price of $136.25.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,679 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in Itron by 4,580.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Itron in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Itron by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Itron by 98.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITRI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stephens set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total transaction of $38,968.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,237,846.60. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.73, for a total transaction of $441,589.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,301.45. This trade represents a 14.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,879,397. 1.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of ITRI traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $127.38. 419,976 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Itron, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.11 and a 12-month high of $140.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.73.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $606.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.36 million. Itron had a net margin of 11.05% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.