Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, an increase of 15.9% from the February 13th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 473,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.0 days. Approximately 6.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

Power Integrations Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of POWI traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.88. 808,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,836. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.91. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.11. Power Integrations has a 1-year low of $54.04 and a 1-year high of $79.13.

Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 4.48% and a net margin of 7.69%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Power Integrations will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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Power Integrations Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Power Integrations's dividend payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Power Integrations in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Power Integrations from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Radu Barsan sold 10,393 shares of Power Integrations stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.08, for a total value of $686,769.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,993,093.60. The trade was a 18.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Clifford Walker sold 1,131 shares of Power Integrations stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.01, for a total value of $65,609.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 143,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,337,081.18. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,433,105 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 1,618.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 629 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 133.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Power Integrations in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000.

Power Integrations Company Profile

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.