Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Short Interest Up 7.9% in June

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the May 31st total of 1,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 522,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $54,543.87. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,930,852.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 501 shares of the firm’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 $54,543.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,930,852.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,775 shares of company stock worth $192,613. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Itron by 10.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 31,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 474.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 110,840 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,715,000 after purchasing an additional 91,543 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Itron during the third quarter valued at $425,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Itron by 0.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,337 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Itron in the 3rd quarter worth about $401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Performance

ITRI stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,017. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $103.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.47. Itron has a 1 year low of $56.11 and a 1 year high of $111.00.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Itron will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut Itron from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $109.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.64.

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.