Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,233,804 shares, a decline of 13.7% from the December 31st total of 1,429,864 shares. Approximately 10.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 274,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 274,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 10.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Powell Industries News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Powell Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and profit growth — Powell reported $3.40 GAAP diluted EPS vs. consensus ~$2.85 and net income rose ~19% year-over-year, driven by better margins and project execution. Powell Industries tops earnings estimates but misses revenue in fiscal Q1
• Positive Sentiment: Record bookings and larger backlog — New orders totaled $439M (up ~63% YoY) including data-center and LNG megaprojects; backlog rose to ~$1.6B and book-to-bill was ~1.7, supporting revenue visibility. Powell Industries Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion, strong cash position and no debt — Gross margin improved to 28.4% (up 20% YoY), cash & short-term investments ~ $501M and no debt, which supports capital flexibility and shareholder returns. Powell Industries Reports Strong First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.27 (annualized $1.08), a modest raise that reinforces cash generation and shareholder-friendly capital allocation. Powell Industries Declares an Increase to the Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management tone and guidance — Management emphasized continued strong demand across electric utility, LNG and data center markets and scheduled a conference call to discuss details, which could add clarity but no formal FY guidance change was announced. Powell Industries Inc (POWL) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed consensus and sequential decline — Revenue was $251.2M vs. consensus ~$255.3M and fell ~16% sequentially (seasonality cited). Investors focused on bookings may look through this, but the top-line miss is a near-term negative. Powell Industries tops earnings estimates but misses revenue in fiscal Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/insider activity — Recent median analyst targets compiled by data providers sit below the current price and public filings noted notable insider sales; both can cap upside until fundamentals continue to prove out. Powell Industries Announces Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend to $0.27 per Share (Quiver)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on POWL. Wall Street Zen lowered Powell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Powell Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Powell Industries in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.50.

Powell Industries Price Performance

POWL opened at $527.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $371.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.92. Powell Industries has a 1 year low of $146.02 and a 1 year high of $569.80.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $251.18 million during 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 31.63%. Powell Industries’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Powell Industries will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

Powell Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Powell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Powell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William Marshall Mauney, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.73, for a total value of $995,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,530.23. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POWL. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Powell Industries by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Powell Industries by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Powell Industries by 18.5% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Powell Industries by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Powell Industries by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.