Wall Street Zen Downgrades Babcock (NYSE:BW) to Hold

Babcock (NYSE:BW) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities set a $23.00 price target on Babcock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Babcock from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.25.

Babcock Stock Performance

Shares of Babcock stock opened at $7.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.58. Babcock has a 1-year low of $1.65 and a 1-year high of $22.03. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.76 and a beta of 1.22.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.02. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.17%.The company had revenue of $319.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.95 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Babcock will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Philip D. Moeller acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.50 per share, with a total value of $47,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 240,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,287,685.50. The trade was a 2.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Babcock during the second quarter worth about $25,159,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Babcock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,900,000. Situational Awareness LP increased its stake in Babcock by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 2,027,451 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,587,000 after buying an additional 673,551 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of Babcock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $462,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Babcock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,636,000. 83.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Babcock

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc (NYSE: BW) is a specialized provider of energy and environmental technologies and services serving power generation and heavy industrial markets. The company designs, manufactures and maintains critical components and systems that support the safe and efficient operation of both fossil-fuel and renewable power facilities. Its core offerings include industrial and utility boilers, environmental control systems for emissions reduction, and aftermarket support services ranging from inspection and maintenance to spare parts management.

In addition to its boiler and emissions control portfolio, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises delivers lifecycle solutions aimed at enhancing plant performance and compliance.