Itron (ITRI) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know

In the latest trading session, Itron (ITRI) closed at $91.28, marking a +1.42% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.01%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.83%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.22%.

Shares of the energy and water meter company have appreciated by 0.72% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 2.06%, and the S&P 500's loss of 2.86%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Itron in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.25, down 17.76% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $570.76 million, indicating a 5.99% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

ITRI's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.06 per share and revenue of $2.42 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -15.01% and +2.03%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Itron. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.66% higher within the past month. Itron presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Itron is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.84. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 22.6 for its industry.

It's also important to note that ITRI currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.78. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Electronics - Testing Equipment industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.95.

The Electronics - Testing Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 13, putting it in the top 6% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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Itron, Inc. (ITRI): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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