Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Rating Lowered by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has $109.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Itron from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. 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 company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Itron from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itron presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $104.18.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $109.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.90. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $110.59. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.38.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The firm had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Itron will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 3,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $292,830.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,162 shares in the company, valued at $17,869,610.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $46,685.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,517,717.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 3,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $292,830.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,869,610.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,923 shares of company stock worth $2,495,196 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 67,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,542 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Itron by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,668,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $343,372,000 after purchasing an additional 142,564 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Itron by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,621 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,596,000 after purchasing an additional 16,208 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Itron by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 153,996 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,628,000 after buying an additional 16,509 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is 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.