Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.58.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $1,450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 449,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,044,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,257,597 shares of company stock valued at $139,735,973 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 220.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Blue Bird by 89.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $65,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $34.22 on Thursday. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.37 and a 52 week high of $39.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.36.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $317.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 223.85%. As a group, research analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.