Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,990,000 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the June 30th total of 2,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 622,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ITRI shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Itron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Stephens increased their target price on Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $95,043.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,775 shares of company stock worth $192,613. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Itron by 99.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Itron by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,621 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,596,000 after buying an additional 16,208 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 216,188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,324,000 after acquiring an additional 126,328 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Itron by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 12,036 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $0.27 on Monday, hitting $103.83. The company had a trading volume of 466,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,840. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Itron has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $103.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.25.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. Itron’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Itron will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Itron Company Profile

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.