Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Itron from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Itron from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Itron from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Itron in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Itron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.20.

Itron Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $99.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.05 and its 200-day moving average is $91.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.32. Itron has a one year low of $77.77 and a one year high of $108.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 4,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.86, for a total transaction of $435,577.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 117,113 shares in the company, valued at $11,577,791.18. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 10,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 22,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,248.40. The trade was a 31.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,903 shares of company stock valued at $1,753,521 over the last 90 days. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Itron during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,809,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Itron by 160.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 336,710 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,136,000 after buying an additional 207,416 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 673,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $60,359,000 after buying an additional 73,020 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 87,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,312,000 after buying an additional 28,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 80,656 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,229,000 after buying an additional 21,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.