Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Short Interest Update

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a drop of 10.8% from the March 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 413,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $28,866.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at $656,321.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at $547,687.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Itron by 61.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Itron by 240.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 429 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 9,150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $90.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.36. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Itron has a one year low of $50.60 and a one year high of $96.73.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ITRI. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer upgraded 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. TheStreet raised shares of Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.60.

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.