Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $137.00) on shares of Itron in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Itron from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Stephens raised Itron from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Itron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Itron from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.10.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of ITRI opened at $100.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.23 and its 200-day moving average is $114.00. Itron has a fifty-two week low of $90.11 and a fifty-two week high of $142.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.06. Itron had a net margin of 10.69% and a return on equity of 17.82%. The business had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Itron’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.51, for a total transaction of $51,729.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,252.68. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.51, for a total transaction of $36,577.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,967,066.82. This represents a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,971 shares of company stock valued at $286,731 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,875,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $731,809,000 after purchasing an additional 132,329 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 127.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,588,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $197,153,000 after buying an additional 890,040 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Itron by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,109,851 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $146,107,000 after buying an additional 21,925 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Itron by 1.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,076,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $134,058,000 after buying an additional 16,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Itron by 6.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 999,882 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $124,545,000 after buying an additional 56,318 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Itron

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.