Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Short Interest Up 5.9% in December

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,570,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the November 30th total of 3,370,000 shares. Currently, 8.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 490,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Itron Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ITRI traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $108.58. The stock had a trading volume of 308,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,748. Itron has a 12-month low of $67.21 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $113.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Itron will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Itron by 42.1% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 53.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Itron by 26.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Itron by 21.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Itron during the third quarter worth approximately $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ITRI. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas began coverage on Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Itron from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.92.

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.