Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ITRI. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Itron from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $116.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock opened at $97.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.08. Itron has a 52-week low of $77.77 and a 52-week high of $142.00.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $562.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.34 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Itron has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.600 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Itron will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.79, for a total value of $44,949.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,700,687.60. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.99, for a total value of $28,297.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,765,923.38. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,693 shares of company stock valued at $759,475 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITRI. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 2nd quarter valued at $299,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Itron by 7,889.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,397,628 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $380,527,000 after buying an additional 4,342,586 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Itron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,809,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new position in Itron in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in Itron by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 250,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $20,930,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

About Itron

Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) is a global technology company that develops innovative solutions to measure, manage and analyze the use of energy and water. Its comprehensive portfolio includes smart meters, data collection devices, communication networks and advanced software applications designed to optimize utility operations and foster sustainable resource management. The company’s offerings enable utilities and cities to accurately monitor consumption patterns, streamline billing processes and improve grid reliability.

Itron’s product lineup spans a range of hardware and software solutions, from residential and commercial smart meters to meter data management systems (MDMS), networked communication platforms and analytics tools.