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

Key Points

• 52-week high: Powell Industries hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $264.65 (last $258.66), well above its 50‑day ($196.15) and 200‑day ($151.56) moving averages and with a market cap of about $9.16 billion.
• Analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $184.25, while recent activity includes JPMorgan's "overweight" with a $310 target and upgrades from Texas Capital and Zacks to "strong-buy."
• Fundamentals: Powell beat EPS estimates ($1.13 vs. $0.95) and shows strong margins and ROE, but insiders have sold roughly 248,688 shares (~$44.5M) in the past three months, cutting insider ownership to about 2.2%.

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $264.65 and last traded at $258.6570, with a volume of 23846 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $255.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on POWL. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Glj Research began coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Powell Industries from $142.33 to $160.33 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Powell Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.25.

Powell Industries Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $196.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.56. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Powell Industries

In other Powell Industries news, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,678,400. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Thomas W. Powell sold 149,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 1,796,082 shares in the company, valued at $300,682,087.62. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 248,688 shares of company stock worth $44,535,053. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Powell Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POWL. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the second quarter worth $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Powell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 89.77% of the stock is 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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