Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Powell Industries' stock reached a new 52-week high at $367.48, closing at $364.56 with a volume of 178,584 shares traded.
• Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $312.00.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.96, exceeding the consensus estimate, while revenue was slightly below expectations at $286.27 million.

Shares of Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $367.48 and last traded at $364.56, with a volume of 178584 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $341.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Powell Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Powell Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $312.00.

Powell Industries Trading Up 6.8%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $293.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.82.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $286.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.69 million. Powell Industries had a return on equity of 33.16% and a net margin of 16.22%.The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 13.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Powell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.2675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Powell Industries's payout ratio is 7.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Powell Industries news, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 3,200 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.74, for a total value of $955,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,700 shares in the company, valued at $7,677,618. The trade was a 11.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Birchall sold 3,000 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.03, for a total value of $780,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,742,201. This trade represents a 30.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Powell Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POWL. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC purchased a new stake in Powell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,554,000. Voss Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,904,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $27,984,000. RPG Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Powell Industries by 342.4% during the 1st quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 154,126 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,252,000 after purchasing an additional 119,289 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $16,405,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.77% of the company's stock.

Powell Industries Company Profile

Powell Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services custom-engineered equipment and systems. The company's principal products include integrated power control room substations, custom-engineered modules, electrical houses, medium-voltage circuit breakers, monitoring and control communications systems, motor control centers, switches, and bus duct systems, as well as traditional and arc-resistant distribution switchgears and control gears.

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