Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. decreased by 34.7% in August, resulting in a total of 99,500 shares short sold by the end of the month.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 94.80% of Ituran's stock, with notable increases in stakes from AdvisorNet Financial Inc. and Jones Financial Companies.
• Ituran announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a strong annualized yield of 5.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 25th.

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 99,500 shares, a drop of 34.7% from the August 15th total of 152,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 111,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 111,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Shares of Ituran Location and Control stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.06. The stock had a trading volume of 17,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,975. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.96. The stock has a market cap of $717.23 million, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.87. Ituran Location and Control has a 12 month low of $25.86 and a 12 month high of $45.43.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $86.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.17 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 16.35%.

Ituran Location and Control Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. Ituran Location and Control's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRN. Ibex Investors LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Ibex Investors LLC now owns 876,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,687,000 after purchasing an additional 15,267 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 726,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,097,000 after purchasing an additional 113,594 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 229,974 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,907,000 after purchasing an additional 24,370 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,537 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,119,000 after purchasing an additional 18,563 shares during the period. Finally, Inflection Point Investments LLP increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Inflection Point Investments LLP now owns 197,997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ituran Location and Control from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ituran Location and Control has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $50.00.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment.