Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 302,498 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 236% from the previous session’s volume of 89,899 shares.The stock last traded at $35.93 and had previously closed at $38.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barclays lifted their price target on Ituran Location and Control from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.64. The company has a market cap of $722.95 million, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $82.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.81 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. 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 (DPR) is presently 73.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter worth about $2,718,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,329,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Ituran Location and Control by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 274,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,553,000 after purchasing an additional 56,956 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 233,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after buying an additional 48,850 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 158,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after buying an additional 38,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.