Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decrease of 10.8% from the March 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 413,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $28,866.71. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $144,107.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,743,032.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $28,866.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,467 shares of company stock valued at $2,752,520. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP grew 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. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Itron by 9,150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Itron from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.60.

Itron Stock Down 0.8 %

ITRI opened at $91.44 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.27 and a 200-day moving average of $73.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Itron has a 1-year low of $50.60 and a 1-year high of $96.73.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $577.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.90 million. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Itron will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Itron Company Profile

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.