Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with eleven out of twelve recommending a buy.
• The company's reported earnings per share of $1.62 exceeded expectations by $0.29, but revenue was slightly below forecasts at $606.76 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 15,755 shares valued at approximately $1.88 million in the last 90 days, indicating some insider selling activity.

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.25.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st.

Itron Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Itron stock opened at $124.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. Itron has a 52-week low of $90.11 and a 52-week high of $140.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $129.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.68.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.29. The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,301.45. The trade was a 14.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of the firm'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 $107,823.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 89,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,272,391.80. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,879,397 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Itron by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,310,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $242,076,000 after acquiring an additional 59,962 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 18.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 929,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $97,313,000 after purchasing an additional 144,361 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $87,145,000 after purchasing an additional 66,637 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Itron by 129.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 732,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $76,713,000 after buying an additional 413,487 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Itron by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 572,266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $62,137,000 after buying an additional 58,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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