Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,964 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,815 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Itron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $401,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Itron in the fourth quarter worth $24,504,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itron by 1,331.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 200,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,832,000 after buying an additional 186,399 shares during the period. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Itron during the 1st quarter valued at $7,170,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Itron during the 1st quarter valued at $5,718,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Itron from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Itron from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.64.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of Itron stock opened at $102.54 on Friday. Itron, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $113.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.95.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $609.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.25 million. Itron had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 16.42%. Itron’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,389,326.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Itron news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,169. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total transaction of $51,994.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,389,326.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock worth $584,721. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.