Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.6667.

ITRN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ITRN opened at $50.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.79. Ituran Location and Control has a one year low of $32.71 and a one year high of $68.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.00.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $104.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.84 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ituran Location and Control will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date 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 and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,218,000 after purchasing an additional 486,331 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after purchasing an additional 91,509 shares during the period. Strategic Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after buying an additional 68,222 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after buying an additional 65,502 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 125,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after buying an additional 52,150 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.