Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Shares Up 5.2% – Time to Buy?

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) traded up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $443.83 and last traded at $426.8090. 73,529 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 256,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $405.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on POWL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Powell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $350.00.

Powell Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $339.32 and a 200 day moving average of $300.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $297.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.85 million. Powell Industries had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 31.80%. Powell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Powell Industries, Inc. will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

Powell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.2675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Powell Industries’s payout ratio is currently 7.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Powell Industries news, VP William Marshall Mauney, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.73, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,476,530.23. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Powell Industries by 42.2% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,314,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $705,475,000 after purchasing an additional 686,588 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Powell Industries by 65.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 615,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,479,000 after acquiring an additional 244,051 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Powell Industries by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 352,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Powell Industries by 2.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 348,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,102,000 after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Powell Industries by 49.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 300,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,594,000 after purchasing an additional 99,857 shares during the period. 89.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Powell Industries

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.