Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI) Short Interest Up 15.9% in February

Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, a growth of 15.9% from the February 13th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 473,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.0 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Radu Barsan sold 10,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.08, for a total transaction of $686,769.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,295 shares in the company, valued at $2,993,093.60. This trade represents a 18.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Clifford Walker sold 2,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.75, for a total value of $150,174.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 142,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,635,308.75. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,544 shares of company stock worth $2,433,105 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Power Integrations

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Power Integrations by 25.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,340,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $150,062,000 after buying an additional 476,986 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Power Integrations in the fourth quarter valued at $19,663,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Power Integrations by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 711,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,870,000 after buying an additional 203,309 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Power Integrations by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,920,459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $118,492,000 after buying an additional 178,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P increased its position in Power Integrations by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 882,518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,451,000 after purchasing an additional 160,784 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POWI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Power Integrations from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Power Integrations in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

Power Integrations Price Performance

Shares of POWI stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.16. The stock had a trading volume of 328,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,318. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 100.28, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.04. Power Integrations has a fifty-two week low of $54.55 and a fifty-two week high of $79.13.

Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.12). Power Integrations had a return on equity of 4.48% and a net margin of 7.69%. On average, analysts expect that Power Integrations will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Power Integrations Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Power Integrations’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.37%.

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.