Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $137.90 and last traded at $137.65, with a volume of 30233 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $136.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITRI. TD Cowen increased their price target on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Itron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.00.

Itron Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.86 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In related news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,313.73. This represents a 29.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $559,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,482.40. The trade was a 84.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,905 shares of company stock worth $2,439,202 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Itron by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,310,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $242,076,000 after buying an additional 59,962 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 144,361 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Itron by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $87,145,000 after buying an additional 66,637 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Itron by 129.7% during 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 valued at $76,713,000 after buying an additional 413,487 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth about $64,615,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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