Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) beat estimates by $0.16 last quarter, and investors are hoping it can beat them again. The company will unveil its latest earnings Wednesday. Itron provides a portfolio of products and services to utilities for energy and water markets throughout the world.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or hold?: The majority of analysts back Itron as a buy. But with 56.5% of analysts rating it a buy, Itron is still below the mean analyst rating of its nearest 10 competitors, which average 60.6% buys. Analysts don't like Itron as much as competitor Elster Group overall. Ten out of 11 analysts rate Elster Group a buy compared with 13 of 23 for Itron. Analysts still rate the stock a hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared with three months ago.
- Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $583.2 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 1.3% from the year-ago quarter.
- Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.05 per share. Estimates range from $0.98 to $1.21.
What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 98% assigning it an "outperform" rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars with 95.9% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools are bullish on Itron and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 157 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Itron's CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.
Management:
Itron's revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.
Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.
|
Quarter |
Q2 |
Q1 |
Q4 |
Q3 |
|
Gross Margin |
31.2% |
32.7% |
29.1% |
32% |
|
Operating Margin |
7.9% |
8.9% |
6.0% |
10.7% |
|
Net Margin |
5.6% |
4.8% |
3.6% |
5.1% |
For all our Itron-specific analysis, including earnings and beyond, add Itron to My Watchlist.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
