Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

Several research firms have weighed in on ITRN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Ituran Location and Control stock opened at $52.83 on Thursday. Ituran Location and Control has a 12-month low of $32.71 and a 12-month high of $68.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.92.

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

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.73%.

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 276.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 12,586 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 23.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,696 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 13.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

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.