Powell Industries, Inc. $POWL Stake Increased by Rock Creek Group LP

Key Points

• Rock Creek Group LP sharply boosted its Powell Industries stake, increasing its position by 1,900% in the fourth quarter to 150,000 shares, worth about $47.8 million and representing roughly 1.24% of the company.
• Powell Industries reported mixed quarterly results: earnings of $1.25 per share missed estimates, while revenue of $296.6 million slightly trailed expectations but still grew 6.5% year over year.
• The company cut its dividend and has seen notable insider selling, including recent sales by executives Michael William Metcalf and William Marshall Mauney Jr., even as analysts maintain a moderate buy view with a $236.67 average price target.

Rock Creek Group LP raised its position in Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Free Report) by 1,900.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,500 shares during the quarter. Powell Industries accounts for approximately 5.0% of Rock Creek Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Rock Creek Group LP owned approximately 1.24% of Powell Industries worth $47,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in Powell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $168,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Powell Industries by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Powell Industries by 74.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 134 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC raised its position in Powell Industries by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Expressive Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Powell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $292,000. 89.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Powell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POWL opened at $284.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $244.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.17. Powell Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $328.00.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $296.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $298.12 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid 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 currently 7.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,678,400. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP William Marshall Mauney, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.69, for a total transaction of $809,225.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 10,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,513,007.57. This represents a 18.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 179,404 shares of company stock valued at $32,086,304. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on POWL. Texas Capital raised shares of Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Powell Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Powell Industries from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.67.

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.

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