Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

ITRN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Friday, March 27th. Maxim Group started coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Monday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ituran Location and Control presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Shares of Ituran Location and Control stock opened at $57.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.65 and a 200 day moving average of $46.71. Ituran Location and Control has a 12 month low of $32.71 and a 12 month high of $62.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company had revenue of $93.50 million during the quarter.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This is a boost from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ituran Location and Control

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 257.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other 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.