Bowman Consulting Group (NASDAQ:BWMN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 87% to 404,430 shares, while the stock was nearly unchanged at $42.755.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: seven analysts rate Bowman Consulting Group “Hold” and one rates it “Sell,” resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $43 average price target.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.62 EPS versus $0.47 expected and $146.12 million in revenue versus $129.35 million estimated; however, insiders have sold 61,797 shares over the past three months, and the stock trades at a high P/E ratio of 106.86.

Shares of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday. 404,430 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 87% from the previous session's volume of 216,021 shares. The stock last traded at $42.7550 and had previously closed at $42.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BWMN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Bowman Consulting Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Roth Capital cut Bowman Consulting Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Craig Hallum lowered Bowman Consulting Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research set a $43.00 price target on Bowman Consulting Group in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut Bowman Consulting Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $43.00.

Bowman Consulting Group Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $709.23 million, a PE ratio of 106.86 and a beta of 1.48.

Bowman Consulting Group (NASDAQ:BWMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.15. Bowman Consulting Group had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $146.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.35 million. Analysts expect that Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bowman Consulting Group

In other Bowman Consulting Group news, CEO Gary Bowman sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $1,595,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 780,948 shares in the company, valued at $33,229,337.40. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Patricia Mulroy sold 883 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.37, for a total transaction of $37,412.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,115,602.10. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,797 shares of company stock worth $2,615,310. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bowman Consulting Group by 38,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bowman Consulting Group by 110.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Bowman Consulting Group by 215.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 184,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 126,136 shares during the period. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bowman Consulting Group in the second quarter worth $799,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Bowman Consulting Group in the second quarter worth $760,000. 63.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bowman Consulting Group Company Profile

Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. is a professional services firm that provides engineering, planning, surveying and technical consulting services for infrastructure and development projects. The company serves public- and private-sector clients across areas such as transportation, power and utilities, water, real estate, renewable energy, mining and federal programs.

Its services include civil engineering, transportation engineering, environmental consulting, geomatics and surveying, land planning, construction management, landscape architecture and other related project and program management support.

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