Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $320.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Powell Industries traded as high as $326.59 and last traded at $326.51, with a volume of 252342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.39.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Powell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research raised Powell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Texas Capital raised Powell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Glj Research started coverage on Powell Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Powell Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Powell Industries presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett Alan Cope sold 4,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.96, for a total value of $1,038,782.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 164,851 shares in the company, valued at $38,568,539.96. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $1,584,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,678,400. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 248,688 shares of company stock worth $44,535,053 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Powell Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Powell Industries by 1,230,312.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 775,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $247,106,000 after purchasing an additional 775,097 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Powell Industries by 42.2% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,314,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $705,475,000 after purchasing an additional 686,588 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Powell Industries by 65.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 615,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,479,000 after purchasing an additional 244,051 shares during the period. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Powell Industries during the third quarter worth about $43,515,000. Finally, Rock Creek Group LP grew its holdings in Powell Industries by 1,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Rock Creek Group LP now owns 150,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,817,000 after purchasing an additional 142,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.77% of the company’s stock.

Powell Industries Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.85, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $206.99 and a 200 day moving average of $157.95.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.09). Powell Industries had a return on equity of 28.61% and a net margin of 16.51%.The business had revenue of $296.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Powell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.05%.

About Powell Industries

Powell Industries, Inc is an industrial electrical engineering company specializing in the design, manufacture and integration of customized power control and distribution solutions. The firm’s offerings range from medium‐voltage switchgear and power control centers to bus duct, motor control centers and specialty transformers. Powell also provides automation systems, protective relaying, metering, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platforms, and turnkey engineering services to help clients manage critical power infrastructure.

Serving the oil and gas, petrochemical, refining, utility, mining and industrial sectors, Powell’s products are engineered to meet demanding performance, safety and reliability requirements.