Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.92.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ITRI shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Itron in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Itron in the third quarter valued at about $38,534,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Itron by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 899,789 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $96,106,000 after purchasing an additional 346,615 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 86.2% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 603,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,760,000 after buying an additional 279,629 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Itron by 90.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,734 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,658,000 after buying an additional 243,355 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Itron by 611.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 282,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,128,000 after buying an additional 243,102 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Trading Down 0.6 %

ITRI opened at $108.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.82 and a 200-day moving average of $106.05. Itron has a 52 week low of $67.21 and a 52 week high of $124.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $596.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Itron will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.