Babcock (NYSE:BW) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Babcock (NYSE:BW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

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

Babcock Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE BW opened at $7.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.57. Babcock has a twelve month low of $1.68 and a twelve month high of $22.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.56 and a beta of 1.21.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $319.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.95 million. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. Research analysts forecast that Babcock will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Babcock

In other Babcock news, Director Philip D. Moeller bought 5,000 shares of Babcock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 240,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,287,685.50. This represents a 2.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BW. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 523,776 shares during the period. Gendell Jeffrey L raised its stake in Babcock by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 5,046,068 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,992,000 after buying an additional 293,245 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $12,827,000 after buying an additional 1,556,692 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Babcock by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,371,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,373,000 after buying an additional 1,004,533 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Babcock by 777.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,974,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635,304 shares in the last quarter. 83.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.