Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $39.24, but opened at $37.50. Ituran Location and Control shares last traded at $36.61, with a volume of 60,652 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ituran Location and Control from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Ituran Location and Control from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Up 2.5%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $759.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.80.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $86.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.47 million. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 28.31%.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Ituran Location and Control's payout ratio is 71.94%.

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ibex Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Ituran Location and Control by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 274,562 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,553,000 after acquiring an additional 56,956 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC boosted its position in Ituran Location and Control by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 233,190 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,264,000 after acquiring an additional 48,850 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,537 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,119,000 after acquiring an additional 18,563 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 158,204 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 38,652 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.