Babcock Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BW)

Babcock (NYSE:BW) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 9,884 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 94% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,103 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Babcock from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Babcock in a research note on Monday, August 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Babcock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 23rd. Four equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.40.

Insider Activity

In other Babcock news, Director Philip Moeller bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Babcock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Babcock by 116.1% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 53,109 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 28,528 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Babcock during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in Babcock in the second quarter valued at about $428,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Babcock in the second quarter valued at about $25,159,000. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Babcock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.17% of the company’s stock.

Babcock Stock Performance

Shares of BW stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,574,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,076,073. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.73 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.39. Babcock has a 52-week low of $2.44 and a 52-week high of $22.03.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $319.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.95 million. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. Research analysts anticipate that Babcock will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Babcock Company Profile

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.