Insider Buying: Babcock (NYSE:BW) Director Acquires 10,000 Shares of Company Stock

Babcock (NYSE:BW) Director Joseph Tato acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.27 per share, for a total transaction of $52,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 217,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,371.26. The trade was a 4.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Babcock Stock Down 6.5%

Shares of NYSE BW traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,551,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,098. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.22. The company has a market capitalization of $661.07 million, a PE ratio of -9.88 and a beta of 1.24. 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 has a 12 month low of $3.07 and a 12 month high of $22.03.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last released its quarterly 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. Babcock had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 36.52%. The company had revenue of $319.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.95 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Babcock will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Babcock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Babcock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Babcock by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Babcock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Babcock by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 16,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Babcock by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 24,202 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 9,448 shares during the period. 83.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Babcock News

Investors following BW have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Kenneth Young bought 10,000 shares for about $43,500, increasing his direct holdings by 0.59%. Executive buying can signal confidence in the company. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage points to reductions in analyst earnings estimates and fair-value assessments, which may weigh on sentiment. The reports provided do not specify the size of the latest cuts. Earnings estimates report Fair value and analyst target report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz issued an investor alert related to a class-action lawsuit, adding legal uncertainty. The alert is not a finding of wrongdoing. Investor alert

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BW shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Babcock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Babcock in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Babcock from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

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.