Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 207,816 shares, an increase of 43.8% from the March 31st total of 144,480 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 144,574 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITRN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ituran Location and Control currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Ituran Location and Control stock traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $57.55. The stock had a trading volume of 118,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,426. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.66. Ituran Location and Control has a 52 week low of $32.71 and a 52 week high of $58.40.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $93.50 million for the quarter. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 27.27%.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control’s payout ratio is presently 206.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ituran Location and Control

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ITRN. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,218,000 after purchasing an additional 486,331 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after acquiring an additional 91,509 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 68,222 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 65,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 125,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 52,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.