Is Itron (ITRI) a Smart Long-Term Buy?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Small Cap Value Strategy” first quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Small Cap Value Strategy outperformed its Russell 2000 Value Index benchmark during the first quarter. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had losses across seven of the 11 sectors in which it was invested during the quarter. The leading detractors were the consumer discretionary, IT, and health care sectors, while the leading contributor was the energy sector. Try to spend some time taking a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments Small Cap Value Strategy mentioned Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1977, Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)  is a Liberty Lake, Washington-based technology company with a $2.4 billion market capitalization. Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)  delivered a -21.32% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -36.29%. The stock closed at $53.91 per share on May 04, 2022. 

Here is what ClearBridge Investments Small Cap Value Strategy has to say about Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“We initiated a new position in Itron, in the information technology (IT) sector. Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) is an industrial technology company that makes meters, networking equipment and software for utility infrastructure. Continued global supply chain disruptions proved a headwind to the company’s ability to fulfill orders during the fourth quarter, leading to disappointing earnings results, which weighed on the stock’s price but created a compelling entry point. We believe supply constraints will prove transitory and recognize the company has a strong backlog and ample new order bookings. Additionally, Itron is a key player in modernizing grid technology and energy efficiency initiatives, which we suspect will support demand over the long term. As such, we expect Itron to deliver revenue and margins well ahead of those embedded in the stock.”

Our calculations show that Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was in 18 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 19 funds in the previous quarter. Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) delivered a -7.47% return in the past 3 months.

In April 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.