Brokerages Set Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Target Price at $60.67

Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ituran Location and Control from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Ituran Location and Control stock opened at $51.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.78. Ituran Location and Control has a 12-month low of $33.90 and a 12-month high of $68.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.87 and its 200-day moving average is $55.50.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $104.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.84 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ituran Location and Control will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Ituran Location and Control’s payout ratio is presently 61.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ituran Location and Control

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cannell & Spears LLC acquired a new stake in Ituran Location and Control during the first quarter worth approximately $2,373,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,451,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 3.8% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 891,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,681,000 after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares during the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the fourth quarter worth approximately $689,000. Finally, Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the first quarter worth approximately $638,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.