Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $133.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ITRI. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Guggenheim raised shares of Itron from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Itron from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.64.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of Itron stock opened at $96.74 on Thursday. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $113.07. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.63.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $609.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.25 million. Itron had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,169. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $90,607.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,968,943.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $584,721. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITRI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,701,337 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $527,488,000 after buying an additional 45,909 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,681,573 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $126,978,000 after acquiring an additional 51,874 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 86.2% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 603,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $59,760,000 after acquiring an additional 279,629 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 542,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,233,000 after purchasing an additional 11,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 518,157 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,126,000 after purchasing an additional 15,157 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.