Babcock (NYSE:BW) Shares Down 6.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Babcock shares fell 6.3% to approximately $6.88, with trading volume sharply below the stock’s average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $15.40 price target, while Needham issued a Buy rating with a $20 target and Wall Street Zen downgraded the shares to Hold.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.04 EPS and $319.72 million in revenue. Institutional investors own 83.17% of the stock, and a director recently bought 5,000 shares at $9.50 each.

Shares of Babcock (NYSE:BW - Get Free Report) were down 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $6.94 and last traded at $6.8750. Approximately 479,346 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,099,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Babcock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Babcock from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Babcock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.40.

Babcock Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.64 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21.

Babcock (NYSE:BW - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $319.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.95 million. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Babcock will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Babcock

In related news, Director Philip Moeller acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.50 per share, for a total transaction of $47,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 240,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,287,685.50. This represents a 2.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Babcock

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Babcock by 777.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,974,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635,304 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Babcock by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,380,991 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,115,000 after buying an additional 523,776 shares in the last quarter. Situational Awareness LP increased its holdings in Babcock by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 2,027,451 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,587,000 after buying an additional 673,551 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Babcock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,260,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Babcock by 1,743.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,096,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,028 shares during the period. 83.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Babcock Company Profile

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc NYSE: BW is an energy and environmental technology company that provides equipment, technologies and services for power generation and industrial applications. The company serves utilities, industrial operators and other customers seeking to generate energy, improve operating efficiency and reduce emissions.

Its offerings include steam generation systems, boilers, replacement parts, maintenance and engineering services, as well as technologies for controlling air pollution and managing solid waste.

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