Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $45.24 and last traded at $42.70, with a volume of 118622 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.17.

The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $82.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.81 million.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. This is a positive change from Ituran Location and Control's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ituran Location and Control's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ituran Location and Control from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ituran Location and Control

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 29,629 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Ituran Location and Control in the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ituran Location and Control in the fourth quarter worth $178,000. Man Group plc grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 16,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 6,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,537 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,119,000 after purchasing an additional 18,563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $833.16 million, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.19.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment.