Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Rating Increased to Buy at Guggenheim

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) was upgraded by Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $130.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 24.29% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ITRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.09.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of ITRI opened at $104.59 on Thursday. Itron has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.45.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $603.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Itron’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $95,043.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $95,043.51. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,775 shares of company stock worth $192,613. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Itron by 32.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Itron by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Itron by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 31,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Itron by 2.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 13,296 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

About Itron

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.