Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Powell Industries in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Powell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Powell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Powell Industries from $142.33 to $160.33 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Powell Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $142.33.

Powell Industries Trading Up 5.8%

NASDAQ:POWL opened at $230.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.16. Powell Industries has a twelve month low of $51.49 and a twelve month high of $237.79. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.81.

Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. Powell Industries had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The firm had revenue of $251.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Powell Industries will post 13.71 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Powell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett Alan Cope sold 4,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total value of $747,104.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 507,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,458,096.80. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ping Ni sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.67, for a total transaction of $41,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,570. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 244,248 shares of company stock valued at $43,496,270. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Powell Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POWL. Greenline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Powell Industries by 126.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 89.77% of the stock is 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.