Babcock (BW) versus Its Rivals Financial Analysis

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

Insider and Institutional 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Babcock	$587.70 million	-$36.16 million	-11.58
Babcock Competitors	$2.35 billion	$133.21 million	28.58

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Babcock and its peers, 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	2183	5197	7219	415	2.39

Babcock presently has a consensus price target of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 39.80%. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 18.66%. Given Babcock’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Babcock is more favorable than its peers.

Volatility & Risk

Babcock has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Babcock’s peers have a beta of -19.64, suggesting that their average share price is 2,064% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Babcock and its peers’ 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	-205.64%	-198.28%	-8.73%

Summary

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

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. 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.