Short Interest in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Increases By 159.3%

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 157,900 shares, an increase of 159.3% from the February 13th total of 60,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 181,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

Shares of ITRN traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.98. 93,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,593. The company has a market cap of $755.57 million, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.90. Ituran Location and Control has a 52-week low of $24.12 and a 52-week high of $45.43.

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

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is 73.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 7.5% during 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 during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. Man Group plc raised its position in Ituran Location and Control by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 16,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ituran Location and Control by 8.8% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.