Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from BNP Paribas Exane

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) had its price target decreased by BNP Paribas Exane from $115.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ITRI. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Itron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Itron from $116.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock opened at $95.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.05 and its 200 day moving average is $91.04. Itron has a one year low of $77.77 and a one year high of $112.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.38. Itron had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The business had revenue of $599.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Itron will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In other news, SVP Donald Reeves, III sold 283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.99, for a total transaction of $28,297.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at $2,765,923.38. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Justin Patrick sold 10,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.36, for a total value of $994,045.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 22,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,248.40. This represents a 31.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,903 shares of company stock worth $1,753,521. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itron in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Itron in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Itron in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Itron by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

About Itron

Itron, Inc is a technology company that provides solutions to utilities and cities for managing electricity, natural gas, and water resources. Its offerings help organizations measure consumption, collect and analyze data, improve operational efficiency, and support more reliable and sustainable delivery of essential services.

The company’s portfolio includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure, communications networks, sensors, data management systems, and utility software.