Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Trading Up 5.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) were up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $264.29 and last traded at $264.29. Approximately 139,719 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 384,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on POWL. Roth Mkm began coverage on Powell Industries in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $312.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital raised Powell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Powell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Powell Industries Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $277.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.85.

Powell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Powell Industries’s payout ratio is 8.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Thomas W. Powell sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.56, for a total value of $5,339,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 682,265 shares in the company, valued at $145,704,513.40. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $14,679,842 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Powell Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the first quarter valued at $375,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Powell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,403,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Powell Industries by 8.7% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Powell Industries by 39.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 17,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after buying an additional 5,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Powell Industries by 21.0% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 12,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the period. 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.