Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired 7,032 shares of Itron, Inc. valued at approximately $737,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Various equity analysts have adjusted their price targets for Itron, with JPMorgan Chase upgrading the stock to "overweight" and raising the target from $128.00 to $145.00.
• Itron's recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations with $1.62 EPS, although revenue fell slightly by .4% compared to the previous year at $606.76 million.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,032 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Itron by 4,580.0% in the fourth 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 stake in Itron in the first quarter worth $45,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Itron by 25.5% in the fourth 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. boosted its holdings in Itron by 98.0% in the first 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 stake in Itron in the fourth quarter worth $220,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Roth Capital upped their price target on Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens set a $130.00 price target on Itron in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut Itron from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 529 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $60,808.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,316,357.45. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.77, for a total value of $1,100,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,313.73. The trade was a 29.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,755 shares of company stock worth $1,879,397. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.48. 410,879 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,072. The stock's fifty day moving average is $129.56 and its 200-day moving average is $113.81. Itron, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.11 and a 12 month high of $140.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 0.68 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 (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $606.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.36 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 11.05%. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Itron 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.