BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BWX Technologies was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment toward the stock.
• The company reported strong earnings, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.02, surpassing analyst expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.1%.
• Insider trading activity included the CEO selling 25,000 shares, indicating a **11.23%** reduction in their ownership, which may concern investors.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

BWXT has been the topic of several other reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BWX Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of BWX Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial set a $145.00 price objective on shares of BWX Technologies and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $177.60 price target (up previously from $153.00) on shares of BWX Technologies in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BWX Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.37.

BWX Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BWXT traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 733,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,338. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $144.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.73. BWX Technologies has a 12-month low of $84.21 and a 12-month high of $189.25.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.23. BWX Technologies had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 30.61%. The company had revenue of $764.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. BWX Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that BWX Technologies will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Rex D. Geveden sold 25,000 shares of BWX Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $4,475,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 197,594 shares in the company, valued at $35,369,326. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omar Fathi Meguid sold 2,261 shares of BWX Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $406,618.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $424,602.24. This trade represents a 48.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BWX Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BWX Technologies by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,404,287 shares of the technology company's stock worth $927,733,000 after buying an additional 192,363 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in BWX Technologies by 19.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,503,679 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $444,288,000 after purchasing an additional 741,282 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in BWX Technologies by 9,309.0% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,482,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $499,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,434,799 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BWX Technologies by 33,572.0% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,517,599 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BWX Technologies by 523.2% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,517,356 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $218,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.39% of the company's stock.

BWX Technologies Company Profile

BWX Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells nuclear components in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Government Operations and Commercial Operations. The Government Operations segment designs and manufactures naval nuclear components, reactors, and nuclear fuel; fabrication activities; and supplies proprietary and sole-source valves, manifolds, and fittings to naval and commercial shipping customers.