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

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,980,000 shares, a drop of 6.0% from the September 30th total of 3,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 542,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,169. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,169. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,276 shares of company stock worth $4,515,846. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Itron by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Itron by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 5.1% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Itron by 1.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,425 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim raised shares of Itron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.50.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $111.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.16. Itron has a 1 year low of $58.88 and a 1 year high of $116.39. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.47.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Itron will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.