Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Earns "Buy" Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Guggenheim currently has a $155.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $133.00.

ITRI has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.18.

Itron Stock Up 0.2%

ITRI traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $135.63. 523,739 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,214. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $122.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.75. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. Itron has a fifty-two week low of $90.11 and a fifty-two week high of $136.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $441,589.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,552,301.45. The trade was a 14.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total transaction of $559,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,482.40. The trade was a 84.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,905 shares of company stock worth $2,439,202. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $242,076,000 after purchasing an additional 59,962 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings 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 worth $97,313,000 after purchasing an additional 144,361 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $87,145,000 after purchasing an additional 66,637 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $76,713,000 after purchasing an additional 413,487 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,615,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.