Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Itron in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Itron from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.20.

Itron Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $95.82 on Friday. Itron has a 12-month low of $77.77 and a 12-month high of $112.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.05 and a 200-day moving average of $91.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $599.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. Itron had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Itron will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 10,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.36, for a total value of $994,045.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 22,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,248.40. This represents a 31.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.79, for a total transaction of $44,949.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,700,687.60. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,903 shares of company stock valued at $1,753,521. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Itron by 70.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Itron by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 13,997 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Itron by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 289,185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $24,968,000 after buying an additional 14,344 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Itron during the 3rd quarter worth about $702,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Itron by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 803 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc is a technology company that provides solutions to utilities and cities for managing electricity, natural gas, and water resources. Its offerings help organizations measure consumption, collect and analyze data, improve operational efficiency, and support more reliable and sustainable delivery of essential services.

The company’s portfolio includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure, communications networks, sensors, data management systems, and utility software.