VELA Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT)

VELA Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,423 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,908 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BWX Technologies were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BWXT. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in BWX Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $50,054,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BWX Technologies by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,408,736 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $156,919,000 after purchasing an additional 448,467 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BWX Technologies by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,754,567 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $190,721,000 after purchasing an additional 320,217 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BWX Technologies by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,379,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,694,000 after purchasing an additional 228,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of BWX Technologies by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 746,145 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,105,000 after purchasing an additional 168,077 shares during the last quarter. 94.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BWX Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of BWXT stock opened at $102.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.14. BWX Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.70 and a 52-week high of $136.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.73.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The technology company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.12. BWX Technologies had a return on equity of 31.95% and a net margin of 10.32%. The company had revenue of $746.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.16 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BWX Technologies, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

BWX Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from BWX Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. BWX Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BWXT shares. StockNews.com downgraded BWX Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BWX Technologies from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on BWX Technologies from $115.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on BWX Technologies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on BWX Technologies from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BWX Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.50.

About BWX Technologies

BWX Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells nuclear components in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Government Operations and Commercial Operations. The Government Operations segment designs and manufactures naval nuclear components, reactors, and nuclear fuel; fabrication activities; and supplies proprietary and sole-source valves, manifolds, and fittings to naval and commercial shipping customers.