Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a Neutral rating on Powell Industries with a $235 price target, implying 27.39% potential upside from the prior close. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $215.42.
• Powell’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $1.42 versus the $1.49 consensus and revenue of $311.74 million versus $316.70 million expected. Revenue nevertheless increased 8.9% year over year.
• Shares opened at $184.47 after declining 2.1%, well below their 200-day moving average of $231.62. Institutional investors own approximately 89.77% of the stock, while CEO Brett Cope sold 4,440 shares under a prearranged trading plan.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective points to a potential upside of 27.39% from the stock's previous close.

POWL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Powell Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Glj Research raised Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.42.

Powell Industries Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of POWL opened at $184.47 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $194.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.18. Powell Industries has a 1-year low of $92.59 and a 1-year high of $328.00.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The industrial products company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $311.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.70 million. Powell Industries had a return on equity of 27.51% and a net margin of 16.49%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Powell Industries will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Powell Industries

In other news, CEO Brett Cope sold 4,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.55, for a total transaction of $1,072,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 517,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $124,937,631.15. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Powell Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in POWL. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Powell Industries by 92.9% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 135 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Powell Industries in the second quarter worth $215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Powell Industries by 205.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Powell Industries by 222.3% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 282,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,892,000 after purchasing an additional 194,840 shares in the last quarter. 89.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Powell Industries

Powell Industries, Inc designs, manufactures and services equipment used to control, monitor and distribute electrical power. Its products include medium-voltage and low-voltage switchgear, motor control centers, electrical control panels, power-control rooms, bus systems and related protection and control equipment. The company also provides engineered electrical systems, field services, equipment modernization, installation support and commissioning services.

Powell serves customers in industries that require reliable and specialized electrical infrastructure, including oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical processing, utilities, mining, transportation, commercial facilities and renewable energy.