Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Hits New 52-Week High at $98.18

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $98.18 and last traded at $96.34, with a volume of 65466 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James downgraded Itron from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. TheStreet raised Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Itron from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, January 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.60.

Itron Stock Up 8.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.38.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $577.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Itron’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $547,687.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Itron by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Itron by 9,150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.