Babcock (NYSE:BW) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Babcock (NYSE:BW)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $6.50, but opened at $5.89. Babcock shares last traded at $6.4640, with a volume of 1,622,186 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Babcock Stock Up 0.4%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.96. The company has a market cap of $725.26 million, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Insider Activity

In other Babcock news, CEO Kenneth M. Young acquired 20,000 shares of Babcock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.51 per share, for a total transaction of $30,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 261,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,234.95. This represents a 8.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Cameron M. Frymyer bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.55 per share, for a total transaction of $31,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 153,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,397.75. This represents a 14.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders purchased 65,375 shares of company stock valued at $142,604. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BW. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Babcock by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 1,411,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 37,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Babcock by 1.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,724,713 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 22,452 shares during the last quarter. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC raised its position in Babcock by 28.3% during the first quarter. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC now owns 327,365 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 72,265 shares in the last quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC raised its position in Babcock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Babcock by 13.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,985,590 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 237,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.17% of the company’s stock.

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.