Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at BTIG Research

BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BLBD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Roth Capital cut Blue Bird from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $44.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.42. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60. Blue Bird has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,990,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 26,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 6,533 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 30.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Blue Bird by 81.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 17,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 8,045 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 57.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.