Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on POWI. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Power Integrations from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Power Integrations in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Power Integrations presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.00.

Power Integrations Stock Performance

POWI stock opened at $58.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.95. Power Integrations has a 1 year low of $56.63 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.35, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.11.

Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.12). Power Integrations had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 7.69%. As a group, analysts predict that Power Integrations will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Power Integrations Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Power Integrations’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Power Integrations

In other news, CEO Balu Balakrishnan sold 12,507 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $758,424.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 600,002 shares in the company, valued at $36,384,121.28. This trade represents a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Clifford Walker sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.36, for a total transaction of $643,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 130,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,426,912.24. The trade was a 7.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,151 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,936. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Power Integrations

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of POWI. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Power Integrations by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Power Integrations by 27.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,177 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Power Integrations by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,889 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 5.2% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 382,273 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,511,000 after acquiring an additional 18,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in shares of Power Integrations during the third quarter worth about $202,000.

About Power Integrations

Power Integrations, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs), and other electronic components and circuitry used in high-voltage power conversion worldwide. The company provides a range of alternating current to direct current power conversion products that address power supply ranging from less than one watt of output to approximately 500 watts of output for mobile-device chargers, consumer appliances, utility meters, LCD monitors, main and standby power supplies for desktop computers and TVs, LED lighting, and various other consumer and industrial applications, as well as power conversion in high-power applications comprising industrial motors, solar and wind-power systems, electric vehicles, and high-voltage DC transmission systems.