Insider Buying: Babcock (NYSE:BW) Director Buys 10,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Joseph Tato bought 10,000 Babcock shares at an average $5.27, spending $52,700 and increasing his stake by 4.82% to 217,338 shares.
• Babcock shares fell 6.5% to $4.54 in Friday trading; the stock’s 12-month range is $3.07–$22.03.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating and a $19 price target. Babcock’s latest reported quarterly EPS of $0.04 beat the $0.02 estimate, while revenue of $319.72 million exceeded the $196.95 million consensus.

Babcock (NYSE:BW - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Tato bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.27 per share, with a total value of $52,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 217,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,145,371.26. This represents a 4.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Babcock Trading Down 6.5%

BW traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,551,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,098. Babcock has a twelve month low of $3.07 and a twelve month high of $22.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $5.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $661.07 million, a P/E ratio of -9.88 and a beta of 1.24.

Babcock (NYSE:BW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $319.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.95 million. Babcock had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 36.52%. Analysts anticipate that Babcock will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Babcock

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Babcock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Babcock by 57.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,785 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Babcock during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Babcock during the first quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Babcock during the first quarter worth $191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Babcock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Babcock from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Babcock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Trending Headlines about Babcock

Here are a few of the latest headlines about BW:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder BRC Group Holdings also disclosed a 130,000-share purchase, worth about $647,400 at an average price of $4.98. Insider purchase report
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage points to reductions in analyst earnings estimates and fair-value assessments, which may weigh on sentiment. The reports provided do not specify the size of the latest cuts. Earnings estimates report Fair value and analyst target report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz issued an investor alert related to a class-action lawsuit, adding legal uncertainty. The alert is not a finding of wrongdoing. Investor alert

About Babcock

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an energy and environmental technology company serving power, industrial and municipal customers. Its offerings include steam-generation equipment, emissions-control systems and related engineering, construction, maintenance and aftermarket services. The company also develops technologies for renewable and waste-to-energy applications, including systems that use biomass and municipal solid waste to produce energy. Its environmental technologies help customers manage emissions and other byproducts from energy and industrial processes.

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