Blue Bird’s (BLBD) Buy Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a $70.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BLBD. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $53.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.92.

Blue Bird Stock Up 6.0%

BLBD stock opened at $53.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $61.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total transaction of $767,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,210,009.32. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. This represents a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 10,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 159.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 1,742.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

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.