Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.64.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLBD. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 3.7 %

Blue Bird stock opened at $37.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $27.36 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 91.12%. Equities analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

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.