Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $41.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.