Voss Capital LP Purchases 55,000 Shares of Powell Industries, Inc. $POWL

Voss Capital LP boosted its position in Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the quarter. Powell Industries accounts for about 5.4% of Voss Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Voss Capital LP’s holdings in Powell Industries were worth $111,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POWL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Powell Industries by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Powell Industries by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 33,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Powell Industries by 80.1% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 92,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,495,000 after purchasing an additional 41,159 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.77% of the company’s stock.

Powell Industries Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of POWL opened at $294.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 57.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.84. Powell Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $328.00.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $296.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.12 million. Powell Industries had a return on equity of 28.61% and a net margin of 16.51%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.1%. Powell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on POWL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Powell Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Texas Capital raised shares of Powell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Powell Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Powell Industries from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Powell Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Powell Industries

In related news, CEO Brett Alan Cope sold 4,440 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.96, for a total value of $1,038,782.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 164,851 shares in the company, valued at $38,568,539.96. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $1,584,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,400 shares in the company, valued at $14,678,400. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 174,964 shares of company stock valued at $31,339,200. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.