BW vs CECO vs HWM Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Ceco Environmental and Howmet Aerospace Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CECO Ceco Environmental Corp
$50.82 -30.9% 1M -4.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.39B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$903.17M
Div. yield
–
Pollution Control Equipment Industrials
2 wins
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$191.96 -17.4% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$77.86B
P/E
41.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 5, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 3, Ceco Environmental 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBWCECOHWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $644.05M $2.39B $77.86B HWM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.4x -77.9x 41.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.5x 21.1x 37.0x CECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +37.6% +18.1% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% -3.4% 20.5% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% -0.3% 19.4% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 23.5x 1.4x BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +39.6% -4.8% -4.9% BW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.6%/yr +49.5%/yr +45.3%/yr CECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.7% 67.6% 35.1% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 52/100 73/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

BWCECOHWM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBWCECOHWM
Valuation 63 #23 of 61 75 #6 of 21 40 #60 of 100
Growth 70 #18 of 58 28 #14 of 19 91 #10 of 97
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 56 #8 of 17 98 #3 of 96
Financial Health 37 #45 of 71 48 #12 of 22 49 #54 of 105
Shareholder Returns 10 #27 of 30 – 88 #9 of 65
Overall 51 52 73
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CECO ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBWCECOHWMSPY
1 month -27.5%-30.9%-17.4% -0.2%
3 months -48.4%-24.7%-32.9% +3.9%
6 months -68.9%-31.6%-20.2% +8.2%
Year to date -28.2%-15.1%-6.4% +12.9%
1 year +39.6%-4.8%-4.9% +12.3%
3 years +93.6%+224.5%+345.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.7%+48.1%+64.6% +23.3%
5 years -32.8%+646.3%+546.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -7.6%+49.5%+45.3% +10.9%
10 years -97.1%+397.7%— +261.1%
10 years, per year -29.7%+17.4%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBWCECOHWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.7%67.6%35.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.5%72.4%36.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.331.961.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.34-0.07-0.14 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-52.1%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -79.2%-49.0%-34.4% -1.2%
52-week high $21.85$99.67$292.71 $779.14
52-week low $3.16$47.44$185.88 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBWCECOHWM
P/E now vs peer median -19.5xmedian 27.2x -71.9xmedian 25.6x 41.1xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.4x 2.4xmedian 2.4x 8.4xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 18.4x 101.1xmedian 16.7x 28.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.7xmedian 28.6x -101.9xmedian 23.6x 42.9xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 1.7x 1.1xmedian 2.0x 13.4xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median -0.79median 0.79 1.37median 1.68 0.76median 0.90

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBWCECOHWM
Revenue $821.95M $903.17M $9.12B
Gross profit $160.14M $290.34M $3.29B
Operating income $22.49M -$5.38M $2.50B
Net income -$18.35M -$28.18M $1.87B
Free cash flow -$58.17M -$21.60M $1.79B
R&D – – $37.00M
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $-0.71 $4.65
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $61.10M $563.00M
Total debt $209.43M $727.71M $4.50B
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 43.31M 402.00M
Enterprise value $115.02M $2.21B $73.46B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBWCECOHWM
P/E -19.5x -71.9x 41.1x
P/FCF -11.7x -101.9x 42.9x
P/Operating cash flow -19.5x -305.6x 34.6x
P/S 0.8x 2.4x 8.4x
P/B 11.8x 1.1x 13.4x
P/Tangible book 15.4x 2.0x 15.8x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 101.1x 28.9x
EV/EBIT 25.7x -533.5x 32.4x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 3.2x 8.9x
EV/FCF -9.9x -132.8x 45.1x
EV/Operating cash flow -16.7x -398.2x 36.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.79 1.37 0.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWCECOHWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 37.6% 18.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 24.6% 13.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 25.6% 30.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 26.1% 25.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% -105.5% 32.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% -30.3% 34.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% -152.2% 33.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% -53.8% 52.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% -149.3% 35.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% -52.7% 54.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% -196.9% 56.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% -29.1% 42.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% -27.1% 75.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% -36.0% 45.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWCECOHWM
Gross margin 19.5% 32.1% 36.0%
EBITDA margin 4.4% 3.1% 30.7%
Operating margin 2.7% -0.6% 27.4%
Pretax margin -8.8% -3.9% 25.0%
Net margin -4.0% -3.4% 20.5%
FCF margin -7.1% -2.4% 19.6%
Operating cash flow margin -4.2% -0.8% 24.4%
Return on equity – -2.3% 33.3%
Return on assets -8.9% -1.2% 14.2%
Return on invested capital 14.3% -0.3% 19.4%
Return on capital employed 5.9% -0.3% 23.0%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 0.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 2.2% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWCECOHWM
Debt / assets 21.0% 19.5% 34.0%
Debt / equity 3.7x 0.3x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 23.5x 1.4x
Debt / FCF -3.6x -33.7x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 44.3% 56.7%
Equity / assets 5.7% 55.7% 43.3%
Interest coverage 0.9x -0.2x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.5x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -0.88 1.15 8.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWCECOHWM
Dividend yield – – 0.3%
Net buyback yield -56.7% – 1.3%
Shareholder yield -56.7% 0.0% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 10.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 30.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 47.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBWCECOHWM
Forward P/E 32.5xFY2026 21.1xFY2026 37.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $2.41FY2026 $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +167.8%FY2026 +37.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +27.4% +31.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $1.43BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +84.9%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +31.3% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWCECOHWM
Held by institutions 88.0% 88.3% 91.0%
Institutions holding 200 345 1,600
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +64.8% +0.7%
Institutions buying 146 246 907
Institutions selling 41 71 484
Buyers to sellers 3.56 3.46 1.87

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BWCECOHWM
BW 1.00 0.36 0.19
CECO 0.36 1.00 0.24
HWM 0.19 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, CECO and HWM?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $644.05M, Ceco Environmental (CECO) $2.39B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $77.86B.

Which company is growing faster?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) +37.6%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -3.4%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -0.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +39.6%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -4.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -4.9%. Over five years, Ceco Environmental (CECO) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -7.6%/yr, Ceco Environmental (CECO) +49.5%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +45.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 0.00%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) and Ceco Environmental (CECO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.7%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) 67.6%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BW, CECO and HWM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.