Powell Industries, Inc. $POWL Stock Position Cut by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group cut its Powell Industries stake by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 76,819 shares valued at about $24.5 million.
• Powell Industries reported Q4 earnings of $1.25 per share, missing analyst estimates, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $296.6 million despite rising 6.5% year over year.
• Insider selling and analyst sentiment were notable, with the CEO and a VP selling shares recently; meanwhile, Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $236.67.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,850 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.63% of Powell Industries worth $24,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Powell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Powell Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Powell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Powell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Powell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Institutional investors own 89.77% of the company's stock.

Powell Industries Stock Performance

POWL stock opened at $292.65 on Monday. Powell Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $328.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 57.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $222.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.89.

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

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 7.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on POWL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Powell Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Powell Industries from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Glj Research began coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Powell Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Powell Industries has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brett Alan Cope sold 4,440 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,336,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 490,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $147,524,013. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $323.69, for a total transaction of $809,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,513,007.57. This trade represents a 18.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 183,835 shares of company stock valued at $32,915,210 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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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