Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Powell Industries hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $290.40 (last at $269.95) with a market cap of about $9.83 billion and prices well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst views are mixed: JPMorgan initiated coverage with an overweight $310 price target while the MarketBeat consensus target is $184.25, with ratings split among Strong Buy, Buy and Hold.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported $1.25 vs. $1.34 expected) and revenue was slightly below forecasts, yet it showed strong profitability (ROE 30.64%, net margin 16.82%); meanwhile insiders sold about 248,688 shares (~$44.5M) in the last three months.

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $290.40 and last traded at $269.95, with a volume of 1453205 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $275.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POWL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Glj Research initiated coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.25.

Powell Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $199.57 and its 200 day moving average is $153.81.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $298.12 million. Powell Industries had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Powell Industries

In other Powell Industries news, Treasurer David L. Eckenrode sold 885 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $168,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer owned 1,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $252,510. The trade was a 39.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,678,400. The trade was 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 248,688 shares of company stock worth $44,535,053. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Powell Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POWL. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Powell Industries by 1.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,251,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Powell Industries by 7.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Powell Industries by 1,221.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,387 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Powell Industries by 4.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 28,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Powell Industries by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,116 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.77% 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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