Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $104.18.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Itron from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective (up from $103.00) on shares of Itron in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,237.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $28,866.71. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,778 shares of company stock valued at $2,785,748. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,504,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Itron by 517.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 246,688 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $14,944,000 after purchasing an additional 206,729 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Itron during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,654,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Itron by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,668,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $343,372,000 after purchasing an additional 142,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Itron by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 216,188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $16,324,000 after buying an additional 126,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.86. The company had a trading volume of 303,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,798. Itron has a twelve month low of $56.11 and a twelve month high of $109.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $94.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.32.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $603.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.49 million. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Itron will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.