Short Interest in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Drops By 16.7%

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 121,830 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the February 26th total of 146,207 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 111,767 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ituran Location and Control

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Ituran Location and Control by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Maxim Group started coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ituran Location and Control presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Shares of ITRN stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $50.70. The stock had a trading volume of 65,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,703. Ituran Location and Control has a one year low of $30.06 and a one year high of $53.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 0.68.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $93.50 million during the quarter. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 16.15%.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.8%. This is an increase from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is currently 206.19%.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.