Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) reached a new 12-month high share price of $138.50, closing at $138.17 with significant trading volume.
• Recent analyst updates reflect a mix of ratings, with nine analysts suggesting a buy rating, while Piper Sandler cut their price target to $121 and gave a "neutral" rating.
• For the latest quarter, Itron reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52, exceeding estimates, with revenue slightly lower than expected at $607.15 million.

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $138.50 and last traded at $138.17, with a volume of 59669 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $136.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Johnson Rice cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Itron Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $128.27 and its 200-day moving average is $113.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $606.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $610.36 million. Itron had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 529 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $60,808.55. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,364 shares in the company, valued at $10,272,391.80. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,905 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,202 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Itron in the first quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Itron by 119.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,060 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,073,000 after buying an additional 41,984 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Itron by 54.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Itron by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,672 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $28,356,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California First Leasing Corp boosted its position in Itron by 220.8% in the first quarter. California First Leasing Corp now owns 26,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 18,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.