Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $129.20

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ITRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Itron from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Itron in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Itron from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI stock opened at $99.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.05. Itron has a 1 year low of $77.77 and a 1 year high of $108.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity at Itron

In other news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 10,210 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.36, for a total transaction of $994,045.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 22,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,248.40. This trade represents a 31.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 4,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.86, for a total transaction of $435,577.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 117,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,577,791.18. This represents a 3.63% 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 19,233 shares of company stock valued at $1,886,033 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itron

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 20.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,536,081 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $137,659,000 after purchasing an additional 265,039 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Itron by 22.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 969,228 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $86,872,000 after acquiring an additional 176,053 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Itron by 12.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 673,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $60,359,000 after purchasing an additional 73,020 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Itron during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,466,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Itron by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 461,761 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,388,000 after buying an additional 42,300 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Itron

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.