Janney Montgomery Scott Begins Coverage on Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $131.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of Itron from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $119.67.

Itron Stock Performance

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $107.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.47. Itron has a 1-year low of $56.11 and a 1-year high of $113.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. Itron had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $609.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Itron will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total transaction of $51,994.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,776 shares of company stock worth $584,721 over the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 61.5% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Itron by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 32.7% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Itron by 315.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.