Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged — short interest jumped 198.8% in April to 3,288,968 shares (about 9.2% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 5.4 days, signaling heightened bearish activity.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus remains a Buy with an average price target of $142.33, while shares are trading around $252.76 (market cap $9.21B, PE 49.3), meaning the stock is trading well above the consensus target.
• Insider and institutional positions notable — insiders sold 248,688 shares (~$44.5M) over the last quarter and own 2.20% of the stock, while institutional investors hold about 89.77%.

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,288,968 shares, a growth of 198.8% from the March 31st total of 1,100,766 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 611,769 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Approximately 9.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POWL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Glj Research initiated coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Powell Industries from $142.33 to $160.33 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Powell Industries currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Powell Industries Trading Up 0.2%

POWL stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $252.76. 418,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 576,188. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.81. Powell Industries has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $258.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.74.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. Powell Industries had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The company had revenue of $251.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.34 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Powell Industries will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Powell Industries's payout ratio is 7.02%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $1,038,782.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 164,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,568,539.96. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Powell Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $1,584,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,400 shares in the company, valued at $14,678,400. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 248,688 shares of company stock worth $44,535,053. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Patten Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Powell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $462,000. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Powell Industries by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of Powell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $365,000. EWA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Powell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Powell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $711,000. 89.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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