Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Price

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $124.00 to $121.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Piper Sandler's target price points to a potential upside of 11.64% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ITRI. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of Itron in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.36.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $0.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $108.38. The stock had a trading volume of 307,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,369. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31. Itron has a 12-month low of $90.11 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $608.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Itron will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $60,199.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,285.40. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David Marshall Wright sold 317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $29,449.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,233.20. The trade was a 3.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,187 shares of company stock valued at $945,620 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Itron by 611.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 282,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,128,000 after purchasing an additional 243,102 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Itron by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,077 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,497,000 after purchasing an additional 10,677 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Itron by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 23,422 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Green Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Itron by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company's stock.

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.