Wall Street Zen Upgrades Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Itron has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy," indicating increasing analyst confidence in the stock.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Itron, with TD Cowen increasing it from $139.00 to $145.00, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• Itron's stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $134.58, signifying strong investor interest.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Itron has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.25.

Itron Trading Up 0.8%

ITRI traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.78. 479,988 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,455. The company's fifty day moving average price is $128.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. Itron has a fifty-two week low of $90.11 and a fifty-two 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.

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 business 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%. Itron's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 339 shares of the 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 $38,968.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,468 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,846.60. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 529 shares of the 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 $60,808.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,316,357.45. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,879,397 over the last quarter. 1.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Itron by 2.7% in 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 buying an additional 59,962 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Itron by 18.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Itron by 9.1% during the 4th 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 grew its position in Itron by 129.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 worth $62,137,000 after purchasing an additional 58,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.