Oppenheimer Boosts Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Price Target to $124.00

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) had its target price hoisted by Oppenheimer from $120.00 to $124.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on ITRI. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.50.

Itron Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Itron stock opened at $114.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.46. Itron has a one year low of $62.45 and a one year high of $116.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.14 and its 200 day moving average is $102.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at $21,519,083.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,169. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,515,846 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $527,488,000 after acquiring an additional 45,909 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Itron by 62.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 899,789 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $96,106,000 after buying an additional 346,615 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Itron by 86.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in 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 worth $50,233,000 after buying an additional 11,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Itron by 90.7% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 243,355 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.