Itron’s (ITRI) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $133.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

ITRI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.64.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $103.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.41. Itron has a 12-month low of $89.66 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 2,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $215,713.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,076 shares in the company, valued at $8,553,860.40. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $60,199.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,285.40. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,037 shares of company stock valued at $385,815. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Itron by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,083 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Itron by 112.7% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,491,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Itron by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,197,000 after buying an additional 214,600 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 143.2% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 4,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

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.