Babcock (NYSE:BW) Trading Up 11.7% – Should You Buy?

Babcock (NYSE:BW)’s share price shot up 11.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.55 and last traded at $7.3530. 1,894,200 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 2,325,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BW shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Babcock from $1.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Craig Hallum raised Babcock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Babcock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Babcock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Babcock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Babcock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.33.

Babcock Stock Down 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $701.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.14.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The technology company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.57 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Babcock during the third quarter worth approximately $14,086,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Babcock by 54.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,423,243 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556,692 shares during the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its position in Babcock by 49.2% during the second quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 2,574,848 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after acquiring an additional 849,602 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Babcock by 497.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,366,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970,656 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Babcock by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,985,590 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 237,797 shares in the last quarter. 83.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Babcock Company Profile

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc engages in the provision of fossil and renewable power generation and environmental equipment. It operates through the following segments: B&W Renewable, B&W Environmental, and B&W Thermal. The B&W Renewable segment supports a circular economy, diverting waste from landfills to use for power generation and replacing fossil fuels, while recovering metals and reducing emissions.