Financial Review: Babcock (BW) versus The Competition

Babcock (NYSE:BW) is one of 219 public companies in the “Electrical Equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Babcock to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Babcock and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Babcock	-13.63%	N/A	-1.41%
Babcock Competitors	-205.63%	-198.28%	-8.73%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Babcock and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Babcock	$587.70 million	-$36.16 million	-11.63
Babcock Competitors	$2.35 billion	$133.21 million	28.42

Babcock’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Babcock. Babcock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Babcock has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Babcock’s competitors have a beta of -19.64, meaning that their average share price is 2,064% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.2% of Babcock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.1% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Babcock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Babcock and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Babcock	1	2	3	0	2.33
Babcock Competitors	2182	5195	7217	415	2.39

Babcock currently has a consensus target price of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 39.21%. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 20.55%. Given Babcock’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Babcock is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

Babcock beats its competitors on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

About Babcock

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. The B&W Environmental segment focuses on systems for cooling, ash handling, particulate control, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides removal, chemical looping for carbon control, and mercury control. The B&W Thermal segment offers steam generation equipment, aftermarket parts, construction, maintenance, and field services for plants in the power generation, oil and gas, and industrial sectors. The company was founded by George H. Babcock, Stephen Wilcox, Jr., and Joseph P. Manton in 1856 and is headquartered in Akron, OH.