Babcock Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BW)

Babcock (NYSE:BW) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 9,536 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 85% compared to the average volume of 5,141 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Babcock

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BW. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Babcock by 57.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Babcock by 3.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Babcock by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Babcock by 30.6% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 3,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Babcock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 83.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of Babcock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Babcock from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Babcock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.25.

Babcock Stock Performance

BW stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.07. 2,315,689 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,015,933. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.85 and a beta of 1.21. Babcock has a 52 week low of $1.40 and a 52 week high of $22.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.64.

Babcock (NYSE:BW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $319.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.95 million. Babcock had a negative return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.17%. Research analysts forecast that Babcock will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.