Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Holdings in Itron, Inc. $ITRI

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,761 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.04% of Itron worth $41,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Itron during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,990,000. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,843,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 269.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 506,867 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $47,068,000 after buying an additional 369,617 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Itron by 1,552.7% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 300,787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,593,000 after acquiring an additional 282,587 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Itron by 20.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,536,081 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $137,659,000 after acquiring an additional 265,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ITRI shares. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Itron from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Itron in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Itron from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.22.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $27,167.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 24,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,083,010.93. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $37,291.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 117,478 shares in the company, valued at $9,911,618.86. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 3,946 shares of company stock valued at $324,420 over the last 90 days. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Itron Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Itron stock opened at $84.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.77 and a 1 year high of $142.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.73.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $586.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.04 million. Itron had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itron Profile

Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) is a global technology company that develops innovative solutions to measure, manage and analyze the use of energy and water. Its comprehensive portfolio includes smart meters, data collection devices, communication networks and advanced software applications designed to optimize utility operations and foster sustainable resource management. The company’s offerings enable utilities and cities to accurately monitor consumption patterns, streamline billing processes and improve grid reliability.

Itron’s product lineup spans a range of hardware and software solutions, from residential and commercial smart meters to meter data management systems (MDMS), networked communication platforms and analytics tools.