Is Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

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As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, established the most valuable position in Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL). Renaissance Technologies had $1.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Chao Ku’s Nine Chapters Capital Management also made a $0.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL). We will take a look at Bank Mutual Corporation (NASDAQ:BKMU), One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE:OLP), Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ:FRPT), and Guaranty Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBNK). This group of stocks’ market values match POWL’s market value.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
BKMU 6 12163 1
OLP 6 7565 1
FRPT 6 30915 0
GBNK 10 64543 -1

As you can see these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $29 million. That figure was $45 million in POWL’s case. Guaranty Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBNK) is the most popular stock in this table with a total of 10 funds reporting long positions. On the other hand Bank Mutual Corporation (NASDAQ:BKMU) is the least popular one. Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWL) registered the same level of popularity as GBNK, which may suggest that the stock is an interesting investment opportunity, but more research is required before buying shares.

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