Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Powell Industries hit a new 52-week high of $252.57 (last $251.71), rising about 5.3%, with the 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $191.23 and $146.98, signaling strong recent momentum.
• Analyst views are mixed—2 Strong Buy, 2 Buy and 2 Hold—yet the consensus rating is "Buy" with a consensus price target of $142.33, well below the current share price.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.13 vs. $0.95) but slightly missed revenue, shows a high ROE (30.64%) and net margin (16.82%), while insiders sold roughly 248,688 shares (~$44.5M) in the last 90 days amid ~89.8% institutional ownership.

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $252.57 and last traded at $251.71, with a volume of 46826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $242.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on POWL. Glj Research began coverage on Powell Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Powell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Texas Capital upgraded Powell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Powell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Powell Industries has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Powell Industries Stock Up 5.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.23 and a 200 day moving average of $146.98.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.34 million. Powell Industries had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 16.82%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Powell Industries Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Powell Industries news, EVP Michael William Metcalf sold 9,000 shares of Powell Industries 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,400 shares in the company, valued at $14,678,400. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett Alan Cope sold 4,440 shares of Powell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.96, for a total value of $1,038,782.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 164,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,568,539.96. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 248,688 shares of company stock valued at $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 bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Powell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $711,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Powell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,273,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Powell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Powell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Powell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. 89.77% of the stock is currently 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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