Contrasting Babcock (BW) and The Competition

Babcock (NYSE:BW) is one of 219 publicly-traded companies in the “Electrical Equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Babcock to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, 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 insiders. Comparatively, 15.3% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Babcock has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Babcock’s rivals have a beta of -19.50, indicating that their average stock price is 2,050% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Babcock and its rivals’ 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	-222.38%	-206.58%	-8.30%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Babcock and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Babcock	1	2	3	0	2.33
Babcock Competitors	2198	5214	7244	418	2.39

Babcock currently has a consensus price target of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 52.77%. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 20.61%. Given Babcock’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Babcock is more favorable than its rivals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Babcock and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Babcock	$653.49 million	-$36.16 million	-10.60
Babcock Competitors	$2.42 billion	$137.84 million	28.83

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

Summary

Babcock beats its rivals 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.