SIR Capital Management L.P. Increases Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

SIR Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,105 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.13% of Itron worth $6,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Itron by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 222,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $24,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Itron in the fourth quarter valued at $27,619,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Itron by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,613 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Itron by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 560,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 99,142 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Itron by 276.6% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 26,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 19,395 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI traded down $0.83 on Monday, hitting $113.99. 306,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $105.49 and its 200 day moving average is $107.96. Itron, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.11 and a fifty-two week high of $124.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $607.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ITRI. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other Itron news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,888,285.40. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO David Marshall Wright sold 317 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total transaction of $29,449.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,108 shares in the company, valued at $753,233.20. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,187 shares of company stock valued at $945,620 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.45% 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.