Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

ITRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Itron from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Itron from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itron has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $57.22.

Itron Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $50.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,051,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,578. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Itron has a 52-week low of $39.38 and a 52-week high of $60.61.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $467.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.90 million. Itron had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a positive return on equity of 4.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Itron will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $60,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.64, for a total value of $74,168.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,664 shares in the company, valued at $8,104,744.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,158 shares in the company, valued at $489,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,365 shares of company stock valued at $675,353. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Itron by 39.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 28,842 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Itron by 30.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Itron during the first quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Itron by 10.4% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 13,291 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Itron by 57.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,551 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Itron Company Profile

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Itron, Inc is a technology and services company, which engages in the provision of solutions that measure, manage, and analyze energy and water use. It operates through the following segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment includes hardware products used for measurement, control, or sensing that do not have communications capability embedded for use with its broader Itron systems.