Babcock (NYSE:BW) Stock Falls 9.3% – Here’s Why

Babcock (NYSE:BW) shares were down 9.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $4.44 and last traded at $4.4080. 678,779 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,336,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.86.

More Babcock News

Investors following BW have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder BRC Group Holdings bought 130,000 shares at an average price of $4.98, a potential signal of confidence. Insider purchase report
• Negative Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $15 from $20, although it maintained a Buy rating. The reduced target may weigh on sentiment despite the continued positive rating. Needham target report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz issued an investor alert related to a class-action lawsuit involving Babcock & Wilcox securities, adding legal uncertainty; the alert itself does not establish wrongdoing. Investor alert

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Babcock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Babcock from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Babcock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Babcock Stock Down 10.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $634.89 million, a P/E ratio of -9.49 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $319.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.95 million. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 36.52% and a net margin of 4.11%. As a group, research analysts expect that Babcock will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Brc Group Holdings, Inc. acquired 130,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.98 per share, with a total value of $647,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 103,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,973.80. The trade was a -496.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Babcock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Babcock by 57.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Babcock by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,733 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Babcock in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Babcock by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 3,057 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Babcock by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 17,842 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.17% of the company’s stock.

Babcock Company Profile

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.