Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in Powell Industries, Inc. $POWL

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the first quarter, acquiring 4,200 shares worth about $2.27 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in POWL, and the stock is now 89.77% owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including major shareholder Thomas W. Powell, who sold 33,958 shares for about $10.0 million; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $236.67.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,273,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of POWL. Greenline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Powell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Powell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Powell Industries by 126.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Powell Industries by 12,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 89.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Thomas W. Powell sold 33,958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.49, for a total value of $10,000,291.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 564,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $166,309,104.64. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William Marshall Mauney, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.69, for a total value of $809,225.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 10,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,513,007.57. The trade was a 18.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 50,588 shares of company stock valued at $14,755,486 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POWL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Powell Industries from $160.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Powell Industries from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Glj Research assumed coverage on Powell Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Texas Capital raised Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.67.

Powell Industries Stock Up 0.5%

POWL opened at $281.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.86. Powell Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.82 and a twelve month high of $328.00.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $296.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $298.12 million. Powell Industries had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 28.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Powell Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.05%.

Powell Industries Company Profile

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.

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