JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Price Target to $128.00

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $118.00 to $128.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 5.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ITRI. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Itron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.17.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock opened at $135.54 on Tuesday. Itron has a 12 month low of $90.11 and a 12 month high of $137.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $125.86 and its 200-day moving average is $111.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.35.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Itron’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $107,823.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 89,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,272,391.80. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.77, for a total value of $1,100,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,313.73. This represents a 29.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,905 shares of company stock worth $2,439,202 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Itron in the 1st quarter worth $266,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Itron by 54.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Itron by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,672 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,356,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Itron by 119.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,060 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,073,000 after acquiring an additional 41,984 shares during the period. Finally, California First Leasing Corp grew its stake in Itron by 220.8% in the first quarter. California First Leasing Corp now owns 26,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 18,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

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.