Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 46,983 Shares of BWX Technologies, Inc. $BWXT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its BWX Technologies stake by 16.8% in the first quarter, buying 46,983 additional shares and bringing its holding to 325,952 shares valued at about $66.7 million.
• BWX Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.12 versus $0.92 expected and revenue of $860.2 million, up 26.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive overall: BWXT has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $228 average target price, though recent insider sales by the CEO and CFO may be a point of attention.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT - Free Report) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,952 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,983 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.36% of BWX Technologies worth $66,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in BWX Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of BWX Technologies during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of BWX Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BWX Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BWX Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BWXT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BWX Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of BWX Technologies from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BWX Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of BWX Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on BWX Technologies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BWX Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.00.

BWX Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

BWX Technologies stock opened at $173.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.40. BWX Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.18 and a 52-week high of $241.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.03. The firm has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.49, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.74.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.20. BWX Technologies had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $860.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $837.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. BWX Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.600-4.750 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BWX Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

BWX Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. BWX Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 28.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BWX Technologies news, CEO Rex D. Geveden sold 10,000 shares of BWX Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.81, for a total value of $2,048,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 202,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,472,181.71. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Thomas Fitzgerald sold 2,417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.25, for a total value of $505,757.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,440,477. This trade represents a 25.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About BWX Technologies

BWX Technologies, Inc NYSE: BWXT is a specialized supplier of nuclear components and services, primarily serving the U.S. government and commercial markets. The company's core expertise lies in the design, fabrication and servicing of nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy, where it supports the maintenance and overhaul of naval nuclear reactors. In addition to defense applications, BWXT develops small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear fuel and related technologies for non‐defense power generation, offering scalable solutions to meet evolving energy and industrial demands.

Beyond propulsion and power systems, BWXT is a leading producer of medical radioisotopes used in diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment.

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