BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $107.62, but opened at $113.01. BWX Technologies shares last traded at $114.73, with a volume of 345,561 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BWXT shares. William Blair started coverage on BWX Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. CLSA boosted their price objective on shares of BWX Technologies from $153.00 to $177.60 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of BWX Technologies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of BWX Technologies from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of BWX Technologies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.84.

BWX Technologies Trading Up 3.5%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $105.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.66.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. BWX Technologies had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $682.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that BWX Technologies, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

BWX Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. BWX Technologies's payout ratio is 31.85%.

Insider Transactions at BWX Technologies

In other news, SVP Robert L. Duffy sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.03, for a total transaction of $624,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,520.18. This trade represents a 65.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ronald Owen Whitford, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.92, for a total value of $209,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,127.68. This trade represents a 16.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BWX Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BWXT. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BWX Technologies by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of BWX Technologies by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 316 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of BWX Technologies by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the technology company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of BWX Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,400 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of BWX Technologies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 4,900 shares of the technology company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 94.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BWX Technologies

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.