Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Research Coverage Started at Guggenheim

Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Itron from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Argus upgraded Itron from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Itron from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Raymond James cut shares of Itron from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $54.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $68.70.

Itron Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $62.95 on Monday. Itron has a 1 year low of $39.38 and a 1 year high of $79.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.18. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.06 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.34. Itron had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 2.01%. The firm had revenue of $541.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.01 million. Research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 983 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $76,674.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,098. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 240.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 429 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its position in Itron by 100.0% during the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Itron by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 712 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Itron by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.12% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage operations in the energy, water, and smart city space worldwide. It operates through three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing.