Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Coverage Initiated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating and a $310 price target, implying roughly 22.65% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus is a "Buy" with an average target of $184.25—well below the current share price (~$252.76)—and the stock trades near its 52‑week high with a high P/E (~49.3).
• Insider selling has been significant recently: insiders sold 248,688 shares (~$44.5M) in the past three months, including a $25M sale by major shareholder Thomas W. Powell, leaving insiders with about 2.20% ownership.

Stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $310.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.65% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on POWL. Zacks Research raised shares of Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Powell Industries from $142.33 to $160.33 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Glj Research started coverage on Powell Industries in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $184.25.

Powell Industries Stock Performance

Powell Industries stock opened at $252.76 on Monday. Powell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $258.42. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $193.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.36.

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

Insider Activity at Powell Industries

In other Powell Industries news, major shareholder Thomas W. Powell sold 149,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.41, for a total transaction of $25,000,004.94. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,796,082 shares in the company, valued at $300,682,087.62. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value 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 represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 248,688 shares of company stock worth $44,535,053. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Powell Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Powell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Powell Industries by 12,800.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 89.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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