Babcock & Wilcox Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of power-plant maker Babcock & Wilcox (NYS: BWC) had a power surge today, up by as much as 10% after the company reported mixed quarterly earnings last night.

So what: Third-quarter revenue powered up to $707.6 million, while earnings per share came in at $0.44. It was a miss and a beat compared with the consensus estimates of $729.2 million in sales and $0.37 in earnings per share.

Now what: Investors were clearly focusing on the profit beat rather than the sales miss, with the stock closing out the day with a 7% gain. Some of the contracts awarded during the quarter include renewable-energy power plants, environmental construction, and nuclear reactor maintenance. B&W CEO Brandon Bethards said, "Recently, several of the company's growth initiatives have taken important steps forward," and he attributed strength to bidding activity for environmental projects and winning contracts to design components for a new nuclear propulsion system for submarines.

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